Secrets and Lies
by BathshebaRocks
Summary: Now a complete story: Newlywed Eric and Sookie are drawn into national vampire politics. As well as coming to terms with their relationship, newfound celebrity and unexpected powers, they also face a mysterious threat which  brings danger and tragedy
1. The Wedding Planner

**A sequel to 'After Dallas' and 'the Ex-Factor', this story is set in the True Blood/SVM universe, and takes the characters created by Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball, but spins off in a different trajectory. I have posted on the True Blood section as the themes are closer to those of the show. There are some characters from the books, and some original characters. **

**The story was conceived and mainly written before Season 3 aired so it doesn't take account of any of the new developments. **

**If you've read this story before, I have made some changes to expand the plot, so there are more chapters. The original chapters 1 – 8 posted between 1****st**** May and 2****nd**** June 2010 are now chapters 1 – 14. The new chapters 15 to 21 are all written and will be posted over the next week or so.**

**Charhamblin helped me out with plot checking on some chapters, and Gajinvamp gave her invaluable advice on American culture, but all mistakes are mine.**

**The Wedding Planner**

I could hear the voices as I came down the stairs. They weren't speaking loudly, but my hearing was a lot more acute nowadays. I was still in that befuddled state you get when you go back to sleep for longer than you mean to, so it took me a few moments to process who was speaking, and what they were saying.

"You don't have to do it you know. A Vampire bonding is quite sufficient. I just don't understand why you need to expose yourself in this way. I am sure the Magister will not approve."

"I've told you, Pam, the decision is made. Besides, the National Council wish it. They believe it will be helpful to our cause. The Magister wants to keep Sookie happy, so he is hardly likely to object."

"So does Sookie know it is just a marriage of convenience after all?"

I had stopped still on the stairs. I realized that I was holding my breath, waiting for his answer. I let out a slow stream of air, as quietly as I could, so as to avoid alerting them to my presence.

"That is not true," Eric was practically hissing at her. "I forbid you to stir up trouble between Sookie and I. You will help her and support her as I command you."

I decided it was time to make my presence known. They both looked guilty as I walked into the room.

"Pam has come over to help with your wedding plans. Now if you two ladies," he shot Pam a fierce glare at that point before continuing "would like to attend to the details I have work to do."

I expected him to turn on his heel and stalk out of the room, but instead he came over to me. Slipping his hands inside my robe he lowered his face to mine. I was conscious of Pam's presence for all of three seconds before I abandoned myself to one of those kisses that could still make my stomach do flip-flops.

"I will see you later." Eric's voice was dark and sexy, making me tingle all over.

The magic of the moment was interrupted by Pam, who was at her most sarcastic. "If you two have quite finished making out, we have rather a lot to be getting on with."

I hurriedly retied my robe and went over to join her on the couch. She had a slew of magazines laid out on the table. "So, Sookie," her tone was now cool and professional, "what do you want from your wedding?"

I couldn't help a wry smile as I explained. It was good to have someone to talk to about it. Eric seemed to think he had done his bit just by asking me to marry him. He made it clear that he had no intention of getting involved in the planning.

"Well obviously my dream wedding would have taken place in daylight. All my Bon Temps friends and neighbors would have been there. My best friend Tara would have been my chief bridesmaid and my Gran would have been watching, fighting back a few tears. My dress would have been white with a billowing skirt and a long train, and an extravagant bouquet of flowers."

Pam was watching me, carefully, with that look she has bordering just on the wrong side of sarcastic. She motioned to me to carry on.

I realized I was practically babbling as I told her how my dream began to fade once I reached my teens. The other girls I had expected to be my bridesmaids began to distance themselves from me, nervous of my 'disability'. It disappeared forever when I realized that the disability would prevent me from ever having a normal sexual relationship with a man.

"So, is it a disappointment to have to settle for a wedding chapel in Las Vegas?"

"I don't think so. I've helped out at enough weddings to know that it's a mistake to put all your energy into one day, when you really need to invest in making the relationship work."

I was thinking of tears and tantrums that accompanied my friend Arlene's serial nuptials at that point. The memories of how they had turned out made me shudder.

"It's just that there's no rule book for human-vampire relations. Everything is so new. Where is 'Dear Abby' when you need her?"

Pam laughed out loud at that; she did love her 'Dear Abby' columns. She consulted them regularly in order to give Eric her, mostly unwelcome, advice.

We were flipping through the magazines commenting on the various dress designs, when I realized that Eric had come back into the room. We needed to get to the Mall and check out some essentials, like wedding night underwear from Victoria's Secret. That was a special treat for Pam, as thanks for her helping me out.

I walked over to give Eric a goodbye kiss. Pam had already gone out to the car, tactfully guessing that we would want another little tender moment before I left.

"Sookie, before you go I need to ask you a favour." He sounded strained and I waited with concern for what was to follow.

"I would like Bill Compton to be my best man. Could you call on him when you get back to Bon Temps to let him know the details."

I stared at him. I'm not sure my mouth didn't hang open a little, I was so surprised at his request. Surprised and disgusted.

"I am not going to ask him. If you want him as your best man, you ask him."

"He'll say no to me."

"Great, so you expect me to guilt trip him into saying yes. I don't understand why you're so keen to have him anyway."

"It will be better for our cause. He is respectable, an American hero, a mainstreamer. People will be less quick to criticize. Besides, he will look good in the photographs."

"Eric this is meant to be a wedding, not a political convention." I could feel the anger rising in me. It had its own energy as it flowed through my body. If our argument carried on much longer I knew I would not be able to control it.

"Sookie, I expect you to do this for me." Eric's voice was as hard as his expression. "Well you can expect all you like, because I'm not going to." He stepped towards me and I thought he was going to grab my arm.

Even now I can't quite explain what happened next. I'm not sure that I even know, it was so fast and so unexpected. I remember turning to pull away from Eric. I might have flung out my arm in anger or to escape his grip or just to steady myself. All I can remember is that all the anger in my body seemed to take physical form and channel down my arm escaping as a shaft of silver-blue light.

It hit a large piece of glassware from Eric's very expensive collection of modern sculpture. As it crashed to the ground, I found myself collapsing as well. I was shocked both physically and emotionally. He was by my side in an instant, holding my shaking body.

"What happened to me, Eric?" I asked eventually, "Where did that come from?"

"I'm not sure. Has anything like that ever happened before?"

"Once when I was a teenager. Jason had taken a photo of me getting out of the shower to sell to his friends."

Eric smirked.

"It's not funny. I was really embarrassed when I found out. Anyway I was yelling at him and I went to slap his face, but before I made contact this blue light just appeared in front of my hand and pushed him back. He said it felt like getting an electric shock."

"Can you do it again? Think of something that makes you really angry."

I tried real hard. I thought of how Bill had betrayed me, I remembered the rescue and how I had staked Lorena, but it was all too far in the past. I had moved on and it had lost the power to hurt me.

"It is a shame you cannot channel this to order," Eric continued. "It could be a very useful skill. Could I just ask you one thing?"

I looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Next time you lose your temper with me, could you just count to ten first." He laughed and gave me a hug.

"Listen I'm real sorry about your vase," I said with feeling very embarrassed about the whole incident. "I could replace it if you like."

He smiled kindly, "I don't think so, it was a William Morris original. I paid $50,000 for it but it's worth double that now. It doesn't matter though."

I realized I was shaking as I walked out to Pam's car. I was still driving my old yellow Hyundai, which she refused to be seen dead in, or so she had informed me, clearly finding the joke very amusing.

Naturally she wanted some kind of explanation, but I didn't respond to her questioning. I needed time to think through what had happened back then.

I tried to talk to Eric about what had happened several times over the next few days, but he shut down on me in the way that only a Vampire can. He knew I was part-Fairy of course, but neither of us had given much thought about what that might mean.

To be honest, the discoveries I had made about my ancestry had depressed me. They made me feel even more different and isolated than I already did. Sometimes, when I was feeling particularly low, I wondered if it was the real reason why Eric cared for me at all. It was going to take me a little time to work out if this new facet to my identity was a positive one.


	2. Chapel of Love

We were a subdued little party on our Anubis flight to Vegas. I was glad it was a night flight so at least I had my Viking sweetie to cuddle up to. I was suffering a severe case of pre-wedding nerves, and combined with my fear of flying, it was only his calming presence that stopped me from throwing up.

Bill had reluctantly agreed to Eric's request to be his best man, although he made it very clear that he was only doing it for me. He forced himself to be civil, but it was obvious that he was not at all happy with proceedings. I could hardly blame him of course. After all, if things had turned out differently he and I would have been the ones getting married.

Tara was quiet on the flight, I wasn't sure why. I was tempted to listen into her thoughts, but that would have been rude. I wondered if she was perhaps reflecting on how much our lives had changed in such a short time.

Pam spent most of the flight flirting with Jason. She confessed it was the fairy blood that made him irresistible to her. If it wasn't for that she wouldn't have looked at him twice. He didn't know this of course. Being irresistible to women came so naturally to him that he never questioned the reason for it. Then again Jason never questioned much at all, he would happily go with the flow as long as there were women, beer and the occasional fight.

If Pam had plans to spend some quality time with my brother once we arrived in Vegas, I quickly spoilt them for her. Eric was sorting out the room arrangements, and had booked he and I into the honeymoon suite.

"I can't sleep with you tonight, its bad luck the night before our wedding."

Eric looked faintly exasperated. "That is ridiculous. We have been lovers for months, what difference can it make?"

"Look I know it seems stupid, but just humor me will you. I would just feel awkward getting up from your bed to go to the chapel."

"Fine, well you can share with Pam tonight then."

I scowled but her eyes lit up "Ooh yummy. Can we snuggle?" She and Eric laughed at what was obviously a private joke between them. I didn't bother to dignify them with a reply but picked up my bag and made it obvious that I was ready to go upstairs.

Pam and I sat up for an hour or so, talking about the arrangements for the wedding and what I might do during the day.

"You must certainly have a spa treatment," Pam advised, reading through the brochure. "What about a full body polish?"

"That sounds painful, and besides I'm not a car. Can't I just stick to a facial, manicure and pedicure?"

"You don't have to go through with it," she said, abruptly changing the subject, "we could all just have a vacation and then go home."

"You know that Eric and I already have a blood bond which cannot be broken. I don't see what difference this makes."

"So why do want to do it then?"

She had a point, and I had to think about my answer. "Well there's the practicalities, legal stuff, next of kin, you know." She looked skeptical.

"I don't really know Pam. Did you not want to be married in your human life?"

"Sookie, if you knew what marriage was like for women in my day you wouldn't ask that question. Once you were married you were husband's belonging for him to do as he saw fit with. He took control of all your property. He could force you to have sex with him. There was no divorce, and if you took a lover or, heaven forbid, had a child that wasn't his, he could have you locked up in a lunatic asylum."

"Wow, that is terrible, I can see why you were happy to become Vampire. You don't think Eric will get like that with me when we're married do you?"

"No, of course not, he is very liberated…. for a Viking," she laughed, "but you still haven't answered my question."

"The truth is Pam, I'm not really sure. Don't you ever get that feeling when you just know something is right? I think its because we have to keep the blood bond such a big secret, but this is public. This means that everyone knows, and I'm proud of that."

"Well I'm very glad to hear it because I can assure you that everyone will know." I wondered what she meant but I was just too tired to ask.

Pam's room had an Emperor size bed so I didn't feel too uncomfortable about sharing with her. Besides I knew that once she had died for the day there would be nothing she could do. I did feel a hand try to creep up my leg a couple of times shortly before dawn but I slapped her away.

"Oh Sookie, you are too cruel. We are practically sisters after all," she complained.

"Well that would be incest then, and you know what it says about that in the Bible," I snapped back. That shut her up.

I got up in time for a very late lunch with Tara and Jason. I was beginning to get wedding nerves so I could barely pick at my Caesar salad. Jason of course had no problem tucking into a steak, while Tara chose Chicken Forestière from the fancy French style menu.

"You don't have to go through with it you know Sis," Jason said, with a look of concern on his face.

"Jason for heaven sake, not you as well."

He looked at me puzzled but continued with his theme, "I'm worried about you. This will make you a target for every religious nut in the States. Believe me I know just how crazy they can be."

I smiled, "listen Jase, its really sweet for you to be concerned about me, but after all I've through in the last few months I figure I'm always going to be a target for someone, whether its humans or Supes. At least with Eric by my side I have a fighting chance of survival."

I think I amazed myself with how calm I sounded. Lunch over, Tara and I headed of to the spa with a warning to Jason not to lose all his money in the casino. After couple of hours of back rubs and hot stones and all the other attention I finally allowed myself to relax and look forward to the night ahead.

Las Vegas never missed a money-making trick. Most of the main wedding venues now opened late into the night to accommodate Vampire guests, or participants. The Little Chapel in the West was one of the most traditional, with a history dating back at least to the nineteen thirties – practically pre-historic in Vegas time, but it didn't want to lose out on a lucrative new business opportunity.

Our tiny party was swamped in a venue designed for extended families and the entourages of Hollywood stars. Some women spend years preparing for their big day. By comparison this was only one step up from driving to the judge's office in a one-horse town – I'd seen that in a movie once, Judy Garland and James Mason I think.

Pam had done a great job with the styling. We'd used a new young designer who'd just set up in New Orleans for my dress. I'd met Frankie Delaney at the King of Mississippi's court in Jackson. When he'd had enough of hanging around on the edges of Russell's harem of young men, I'd helped him set up his own design studio, so any publicity would boost my investment. Maybe it was a result of having Eric's blood but sometimes I found myself starting to think like him.

Eric, Bill and Jason looked stylish in their black made to measure suits. Pam and Tara also had dresses by Frankie D. His designs were perfect for real women with curves, accentuating all the best features but never too tight or too revealing. The photographer Pam had hired would certainly have some excellent material to work with.

Despite having all the trappings of a regular wedding it still felt to me as if we were trying to pretend to be something we weren't, like a normal couple with normal lives. Eric made it clear that the wedding ceremony was mainly for my benefit. He regarded our Vampire bonding as the real commitment between us. He'd still had Godric then which made it more special for him.

I resisted the temptation to try to listen in or Eric's thoughts as we exchanged vow. I contented myself with trying to read his expression. I was sure I could see real emotions in his eyes. I just hoped I wasn't deluding myself.

When we returned to the hotel I finally got to see our honeymoon suite. It was huge, with a living room almost as big as my old house in Bon Temps. The rooftop deck had its own hot tub. The bed must have been at least Emperor size. It had been covered in rose petals, and the whole room was lit with candles.

Eric seemed very thoughtful. He didn't pounce on me as I had expected, but held me in his arms, placing soft kisses on my face and neck. When he did speak his words came as a surprise.

"Do you feel different?" he asked.

"You know, I really didn't expect to but I do. There is something about the wedding vows that gets you to focus on the commitment you're making."

"They are not entirely accurate in our case," he laughed. "Death is unlikely to part us for many years.

"Don't be so sure. You should never take anything for granted." I was still coming to terms with the idea that my Fairy heritage, and regular ingestion of vampire blood, could extend my lifespan to ten times the normal human three-score years and ten.

"So you are certain you have done the right thing?" He continued.

"I was sure weeks ago," I said as I reached up to stroke his cheek, "what about you though?"

I didn't want to ask what was really on my mind – '_do you really love me, are you doing this for us, or am I just some kind of pawn in a Vampire power struggle I don't understand?'_ Instead I just asked "why all these questions now? It's a bit late to be changing our minds."

He was thoughtful for a moment. "Things aren't going to be easy you know."

I sighed impatiently. "Eric we've been over this so many times. I know things won't be easy. I know we'll argue and fight sometimes. I know about the threats we'll face. Hell, I'm even getting used to getting beaten up once in a while. Do we really have to talk about all these things tonight? All I hope is that we can get through our honeymoon without Vamp politics getting in the way."

Some hope, I soon found out.

We had planned to stay in Vegas for a second night, to chill out before we jetted off to California, and the others returned to Louisiana. I spent most of the day asleep. Apart from being exhausted I wanted to save all my energy for a full night with my Viking honey.

We were just getting down to some serious snuggling when there was a knock on the door. "Go away!" we yelled in unison, before breaking down in laughter.

"It's Pam," said Pam from the corridor, "we've been summoned."

Eric kissed me and got out of bed, stretching his gorgeous body for my benefit. I sat up to listen to the conversation.

"What do you mean 'summoned'?" he asked.

"It's Felipe de Castro." Pam replied. "He knows you're in town and he expects you at his court tonight. Honestly Eric, how could you not think about the protocol? An out of state Sheriff is in town and you think the King of Nevada is not going to want to know about it."

I fell back hard against the pillows. So much for my hopes of a second night of passion. I knew more than I wanted to about Vampire etiquette and Pam was absolutely right. All out of state Vampires had to report to the Sheriff of the area they were visiting, and as Eric was a Sheriff himself, he had to report to the King. I could have told him that but I'd thought he would have it under control. Sighing loudly, I got up and searched the wardrobe for a suitable outfit.

"I don't understand why he didn't anticipate this?" I grumbled to Pam who had come in to help me dress.

"Of course he anticipated it, this is Eric Northman we're talking about here. I think he was just hoping to avoid it."

That got me worried, and I looked at her, my expression making it clear that I wanted an explanation.

"De Castro is very powerful, very rich and very handsome."

"And…"

Pam didn't respond, just carried on looking at me as if I was a slightly retarded child. Eventually the penny dropped.

"Eric cannot be jealous, that's just ridiculous. As if I'd look at another guy – he knows that." I was still shaking my head as we took the elevator down to pick up our car.

Felipe De Castro held court in a ballroom on the upper floor of the hotel he owned. His ownership wasn't public of course, as Vampires weren't allowed to own Casinos, but naturally he had a complex arrangement of holding companies, according to Eric. He was a small man with only an inch on me in height. He was, however, very handsome and very smooth. "Mrs. Northman," he said, in a voice so oily you could have cooked fries in it, "it is such a great pleasure to meet you."

"I have heard so much about you, Your Majesty," I smiled like a good little Vampire wife, "it's an honor to meet you."

"Oh please do call me Felipe."

He may have had the sexiest accent I had heard in a long time, but he was smarmy and I didn't trust him.

"I have heard all about your very special skills. I would very much like to see them in action."

Concern must have shown on my face, despite my best efforts to hide it. Eric and I had known for some time that we could communicate with each other telepathically: most likely a side effect of sharing blood so regularly. We'd never had to use the skill in a serious situation before though.

He telegraphed me a message: _"You don't have to do as he asks, if you stand up to him I will protect you."_

"_Thanks honey,"_ I telegraphed back, careful not to show any further expressions of emotion, _"I'll be fine."_

"I have an agreement with the Magister. Provided he and Eric agree, I will work for any Vampire, as long as anyone guilty of wrongdoing is dealt with through the proper channels. " I told Felipe with as much authority as I could muster.

"Good," he replied, "I have some issues I need you to investigate for me."

"I'll be happy to help, once we are back from our honeymoon."

"I'm very sorry my dear, but these matters are too urgent to wait. I must insist that you stay in Las Vegas and deal with them now."

I could feel myself getting angry, and I sensed that Eric could as well. He stepped forward, placing himself between the King and I.

I had to suppress a smile as I watched the two of them square up. Eric had the height advantage of course, but Felipe had the authority and position in the Vampire hierarchy. I was quite touched that my beloved refused to back down.

"Majesty, I have promised my wife a honeymoon, and as you know I always keep my promises." There was an undercurrent of menace in his voice clearly intended for the King. For myself, I got a little shiver of pleasure every time I heard him call me his wife. I smiled and reached for his hand.

"How very sweet," said Felipe, sardonically, "far be it from me to disturb the course of true love. Will you agree to come back to Vegas and undertake an investigation for me as soon as you return?"

I was about to say 'yes, of course' but Eric jumped in ahead of me. "We will enjoy our honeymoon, we will settle things in Shreveport and then we will most certainly come back to Vegas."

I was pleased to note that he stressed every 'we' in the sentence.

"I'll see you in a month then, now Mrs. Northman, I believe you owe me a dance."

"You got away lightly there." Pam reflected as we finally made it back to our hotel. "I'm really not sure how you do it, you know. I was sure De Castro had planned something for you. Then again I was sure Sophie-Ann was planning something when we were in New Orleans last. You do need to watch yourself though, your run of luck can't last for ever."

For Pam, she was being very forthcoming. I wasn't sure that was a good sign.

"I think I've worked that out for myself." I replied.

**A/N: The Eric and Sookie telepathy is a device used in several FanFic stories so I'm hoping it's now accepted as part of the new canon. It is indicated by the use of the italic text.**


	3. California Dreaming

I really have no idea if Vampires recognize the concept of the honeymoon. To my delight, though, Eric had suggested that he and I spend two weeks on vacation together.

He had arranged to borrow a vampire friendly beach house in California. He'd promised me no Fangtasia, no vampire politics, no Pam, no Magister, no worries. Just two weeks of loving and laughing, talking and being together.

The house was simple but stylish. The upper floor comprised a large living area with a small kitchenette at the back, and a big sun-deck overlooking the sea. It had been specially adapted with tinted windows and a light tight bedroom underneath. The bedroom featured a spectacular walk in shower and a huge tub. I almost moaned out loud when I saw it, imagining the fun we were going to have. I'd made love on the beach before and although it sounds romantic in theory, the reality of finding sand everywhere – and I mean everywhere – leaves something to be desired.

It was warm enough for us to sit out late into the night, either on the deck or down on the beach. The sea retained enough warmth to make swimming possible, and Eric would build a small fire from driftwood to keep away the chills. It was a magical time for me. We would lie on a rug looking at the stars. Eric would tell me stories about his travels, the people he had met, the sights he had witnessed.

I loved to lie naked under the night sky, feeling the warm breeze caress my body. Enjoying the amazing sensations as Eric's hands and his mouth traced patterns on my skin, and teased me in all the most sensitive places.

I'd improved my vocabulary no end with Arlene's 'Word a Day' calendars, but even so, I still didn't have the language to fully convey the way he could make me feel with just a touch, just a kiss.

"What are you thinking, Mrs. Northman?" Eric asked me one evening as we lay silently, holding each other.

"Can't you tell?" I stalled, wanting to think about my answer.

"Only if you let me listen in," he laughed.

"I'm just amazed at how my life has been transformed. Two years ago I thought I'd probably die a virgin. Now I have the sexiest guy in northern Louisiana as my lover."

"Only northern Louisiana?" he teased, taking one nipple into his mouth and sucking hard.

"Well maybe the whole of Louisiana," I moaned.

"Really?" He moved his hand down between my legs and began to stroke my inner thighs, his hand travelling up to a more sensitive spot.

"Okay, well maybe the whole of the South."

I couldn't utter another word for at least five minutes. When I finally recovered I turned the tables on him.

"What about you, what are you thinking?"

"It's strange, but I knew from that first night I saw you in Fangtasia that we were going to be together. I tried to deny it at first, I thought it was just lust, but now I know there is something more. The thing that most puzzles me is that every now and then I get the oddest feeling that I've met you before. It's not possible of course, I would remember it, but just occasionally, the look on your face, or a phrase you'll use, it gives me the strongest feeling of déjà vu."

When he said something like that, any doubts I might have were banished. He made love to me with such tenderness, I had never in my life felt so cherished or so safe.

My previous sexual experience had been limited to one man, Bill Compton. Now that I could look back on what had happened between us with a sense of perspective, I could appreciate that he had been a considerate lover. Unfortunately he only came in two speeds: maddeningly slow, or fast and furious.

Eric, on the other hand, could demonstrate infinite variety. He knew just how to tease me, to build me up to a peak of pleasure so intense that I thought I would explode. I was just as eager to please him, and he was an excellent tutor.

He was a big man, but I became used to accommodating him. Sometimes I just had to sit and look at him to start feeling an ache between my legs. We didn't bother with much in the way of clothing, and he could always sense my arousal, on account of the blood tie between us.

We might be listening to music or just sitting talking when he would pull me into his lap and down onto his hardness. We quickly found the positions that gave us both the most pleasure. It was a good thing we had no near neighbors as we didn't hold back with vocalizing our excitement.

That moment, when he was so overcome with passion that he reverted to his mother tongue, a language not heard for hundreds of years, gave me the most incredible thrill.

Our little stretch of beach was secluded and shared with only a few other properties, most of which were owned by A-list celebrities. In the evenings people would gather in an unpretentious little beach shack that served a legendary seafood platter. The owner was an ageing 60s beach bum who'd come to the West Coast to surf and never left. His long blond hair was stringy, with patches of scalp showing through. His six-pack abs were now a paunchy twelve pack, but the photos around the walls showed he had once been a real cool guy. His bad temper was legendary, but he was surprisingly polite to Eric.

On our first night there I found it hard not to stare at some of the famous faces, people I'd only previously seen in magazines, or on the cinema screen. I soon realized that we were attracting just as much attention as anyone else in the room. The reason why became obvious when I noticed a well-thumbed copy of _People_ magazine on the bar. A stunning photo of Eric and I at our wedding dominated the front cover.

"How did that get there?" I struggled to keep my voice low and calm.

"Pam did a deal with American Vampire to carry the photos. They were such a hit that they syndicated them. All the profits will go to my charitable Foundation." Eric made it sound as if having your picture on the front page of a national magazine was a normal, everyday event.

"And you were going to tell me about this when exactly?"

"I thought she had consulted you." For a thousand year old Vampire, he could be a terrible liar.

"You know perfectly well she didn't, and you know perfectly well that I would have said no if she had." I was getting angry now and every head in the place had turned to look at me.

"Sookie, darling, could we discuss this later. You really don't want to lose your temper in here. Let me get you a gin and tonic."

I wasn't about to be placated with alcohol, but I figured he was right about not having our argument in public. I let Eric choose us a table and order a seafood platter. Incidentally, it was delicious.

Back at the beach house I really let rip. "So you and Pam planned this without even the courtesy of consulting me!"

He at least had the grace to look a little ashamed.

"We should have discussed it with you, I know that. It's a little hard for me to adjust sometimes. It's been just Pam and I together for so long. You're going to have to give me some time to adjust."

He seemed genuinely contrite. I was tempted to make him suffer with some world class sulking, but then did I really want to waste a minute of this precious time together arguing.

As I relaxed on the couch, letting his long cool fingers massage my shoulders, I thought perhaps I should focus on counting my blessings, as my grandmother had used to advise me.

Our idyll was rudely interrupted on the fourth night by the unexpected and unwelcome presence of the Magister. I was surprised that he actually apologized for the intrusion. Technically speaking I was still on parole for the staking of the Vampire Lorena. Although the Magister was taking a surprisingly relaxed attitude to my punishment, I was still expected to make myself available to him whenever he needed my skills.

"I am truly sorry, my dear, I wouldn't have come if it was not imperative. We have a situation, and I need your help. Both of you," he explained, acknowledging Eric. "Lorrie Divine has gone missing. I need your help to find her."

I recognized the name immediately. Not only was she a rising star in Hollywood, she was also the human companion of Adolphus Coburg, the Vampire King of California. They were, without a doubt, the highest profile human-Vamp couple in the country. They had even achieved the ultimate celerity endorsement: their own merged identity 'LoDo'

She had disappeared from a fancy Hollywood restaurant, during a lunch date with some girlfriends. One minute she was there, the next gone without a trace.

This wasn't just a personal issue, the Magister explained. An assault on such a high profile couple was a direct attack on the whole vampire community. She needed to be found, preferably before the news got out.

When we arrived the restaurant had been cleared of customers, but the staff were standing around. They looked very nervous, which was understandable under the circumstances. The Magister called a tall redhead over and motioned to her to join us in a booth. "This is Ninette, she was their server today."

I smiled encouragingly and took her hands in mine.

"You're not in any trouble, I just need to find out everything you can remember. Just relax and think back to anything you remember about today."

She took a deep breath and began. "It was a good shift, not too busy but some big tippers. I noticed her party as soon as they came in. I've seen Lorrie Divine in all the celeb magazines. Her guy is so hot. The only other one I recognised was that skinny English woman - the soccer player's wife - you know. Anyway they'd chosen a discreet table, so I guessed they had some hot gossip to catch up on. They all ordered salads with no dressing, and mineral water. Oh, one of them had a white wine spritzer. I noticed they all had their Blackberries out, I remember thinking how rude it was to do that while they were lunching with friends. The last I saw of Ms Divine was when she passed me on her way to the ladies room."

"What time was that?"

"I'll check when they paid the bill, but I guess it was around three-thirty. They left pretty quickly when it was clear she wasn't coming back, probably only ten minutes later. We offered to call the Police but they refused. That didn't surprise me, the skinny one was particularly keen to get away."

"So how did Lorrie look when she passed you?"

She thought about that for a long time. I could see the image in her mind. There were no signs of distress or concern. She looked just like a woman who wanted to find the ladies room.

I sent Ninette off to check the time they'd paid their bill. My next interviewee was one of the kitchen staff who'd been on a break at about the time Lorrie had gone missing. He said he couldn't remember much so I tried to get him to focus on what he'd seen and heard.

I got an image of him standing by the door, rifling through a coat pocket for cigarettes and a lighter. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a flash of grey in the corridor outside. She'd been wearing a grey dress.

"So where did you sit when you went outside?"

"There's a doorway round the corner, its fairly sheltered so we usually hang out there."

"Just imagine yourself there, smoking."

He concentrated hard, but nothing. Then a sound, the roar of an engine.

"Did you recognise that?"

Yeah, I do remember now. It was a Hog."

"I'm sorry?"

"A Harley Davidson, they're very distinctive you know."

"Did you notice anything else unusual? Just relax and take your time."

"I think I heard some kind of argument, maybe a scuffle, but the back alley is always has a few homeless guys who hang round and fight over the left over food, so I didn't think anything of it."

"What time was that?"

"Well I take my break at three-thirty so maybe two or three minutes after that."

I left the staff and went back to join the Magister. He had Mick Connolly with him, one of his human private investigators, and was giving him instructions.

"What we don't know is whether she was followed to the restaurant, or whether they were alerted from here. All of her friends were texting during the meal. If you could access their phone and e-mail records that might help. Start at four pm and work backwards - see if there are any suspicious messages." Connolly nodded and left.

There was so little to go on, but the suggestion of the motorcycle did make me wonder if Were could be involved. A lot of them were in motorcycle gangs. We needed to meet up with the Pack Master for the area.

"Can you set me up a meeting with the local Pack Master tomorrow?" I asked the Magister.

"No," Eric butted in. "You are not meeting him alone, it will have to wait until tomorrow night. It's too dangerous and I won't let you go alone."

"Eric, I have dealt with Were before."

"That was in Shreveport and you were already connected with them, they knew they could trust you. Here they will just see you as lunch on legs."

He was right of course. "Set it up for tomorrow night then, say an hour after first dark."

I'm not sure what made me look down as we walked out towards the car, but in the glare of the security lights I noticed an ID card lying on the ground. It was in a woman's name, and it was a membership card for the Fellowship of the Sun.

"This will give me something to do tomorrow daytime, but I'm going to need some help with research."

"I'll get Connolly to look into it and call you in the morning."

"Okay, give him the Card and ask him to find out as much as he can. It could be just co-incidence, but I think I should find this woman and talk to her."

"Are you angry about this?" Eric asked me as we drove back to the beach house.

"Not really, I guess it's pretty much inevitable. It just means we have to make the most of the time we have together."

I ran a hand up his thigh and was gratified by the reaction I got.

"Very philosophical of you, my lover. You would make an excellent vampire you know," he laughed.

I squeezed him where it would hurt for that.


	4. The House in the Woods

Mick Connolly called me late the next morning. He had tracked down the mystery woman from her ID. She couldn't have been involved in the kidnapping in person as she'd been involved in an auto accident three days ago and was still in hospital. She was, however, heavily involved in the Fellowship of the Sun. We agreed that I should interview her.

He picked me up in his Lincoln, which appeared to carry a full disguise kit in the trunk. He had brought me a cheap business suit, a brunette wig, a fake ID for an Insurance Investigation company, and, in what was certainly a masterstroke, a small FOTS lapel pin.

I had never thought of myself as much of an actress, but all those evenings keeping a straight face while people's most intimate thoughts swirled around had served me well. I had no trouble convincing the reception to let me into LeeAnn Rickitts' room.

"Ms Rickitts," I said, trying my best to tone down my accent, "I'm from Anthem Blue Cross, I have a few questions I have to ask you about your accident."

She looked puzzled. "I met with your colleagues yesterday. I answered all their questions, is there a problem?"

"No, but we have tightened up our procedures. We get a lot of false claims and fake IDs so we have to double check." I smiled as reassuringly as I could, and leaned in a little so she could see my lapel badge.

She relaxed and smiled back. "You with the Fellowship?"

"Yes. I've been reprimanded for wearing the badge but I'm proud of it. I can't stand the way these vamps think that every pretty girl is just theirs for the taking. And as for those Fangbangers, just because the dead guys are meant to be so hot in the sack." I was struggling to keep a straight face as I laid it on thick, but it seemed to work as she relaxed and began to broadcast her thoughts.

"_She would so love it if she knew what we had planned, pity I have to keep it to myself_."

That was interesting, but it was also in the future tense. I decided to be more direct.

"LeeAnn, I shouldn't be telling you this, but as we're on the same side, you need to know that I found your Fellowship Membership Card out back of Spago's in Beverly Hills yesterday. We're just wondering how it got there when you are meant to have been in hospital for the last few days."

She sighed. "I was mugged about a week ago and had my purse stolen. The card was in it."

"Did you report it to the Police?"

"Yes, it was a white guy, hairy, biker type I thought."

"I'm sure that will check out. I hope you are out of here soon. You need to be out there spreading the word." I gave her a conspiratorial grin.

"Oh, don't worry darlin', we will be. Just keep an eye on the Carmilla." She was still laughing as I walked down to the corridor.

My afternoon hadn't been completely wasted, I thought. I'd have something to report to the Magister. The Hotel Carmilla was part of America's newest chain of Vampire friendly hotels. It sounded as if they were planning some kind of attack. Unfortunately this didn't help at all with the case in hand, except to reinforce my view that the disappearance had Were involvement.

That night Eric and I met up with the California head Packmaster in the back lot of a supermarket off the Pacific Coast Highway.

We shared blood before we left the house. Eric wanted to give me strength, and to reinforce our telepathic bond. Of course it required great self control to share a blood bond without having sex, and self control was not something that was on either of our agendas at the moment.

As soon as Eric had positioned me straddling him, I could feel his arousal. He sighed and let his head fall back as I took him inside me and began to move. I knew we were meant to be in a hurry, but I couldn't resist teasing him just a little, starting real slow, then speeding up until we both almost reached that golden moment. He pulled my head down to his and bit hard on my neck. I screamed with pleasure. He gave me his wrist and I sucked hungrily.

"Come, my darling, we must go," he said, pulling away reluctantly.

The Pack Master had the weary expression of someone who no longer has things under his control. We explained the situation as briefly as we could, along with our suspicion of Were involvement.

"There is a group of young Were, they are rebellious. I struggle to keep them within the rules for our kind. They care only for material things. I believe they would do anything if the price is right."

"So where do they hang out," Eric asked. He surprised me sometimes with his command of modern idiom.

"At the full moon, they go up to the hills, above Santa Monica." Tonight was a full moon.

Eric retrieved his laptop from the trunk of our rental car. He had promised me faithfully that he wouldn't bring any Area 5 business with him to California, but I'd woken a couple of times to hear him tapping away at the keyboard. I knew he'd been dealing with his e-mails when he thought I was sleeping.

I was beginning to realize there was a 'don't go there' side of Eric that I was just going to have to learn to deal with. Now, however, he wanted to use Google Earth to search the woods for any sign of a structure which the Were could be using as a hiding place.

I stared at the screen, amazed at the detail you could see. Eric scanned back and forth across the hill, but all you could see were trees. Something caught my eye, nothing but the smallest shimmer on the screen. I indicated to Eric and he zoomed in.

"I can't see anything, dearest, are you sure?" He was rightly skeptical of my grasp of modern technology.

I could see it quite clearly now. There was a tiny spot, still green, but shimmering and with just a hint of brown underneath. "It's there, Eric, I'm sure of it. Somehow its been hidden from sight."

"That is very strange. It must be some kind of cloaking device, but it is very sophisticated and Were do not have access to that kind of technology."

He was about to go on, but was interrupted by the sound of vehicles approaching. We tensed up. Two large ATVs roared into view. I sensed the blank minds of four Vampires.

As they walked towards us I could tell that they were old, which meant they were strong. In the current circumstances that was a good thing. They exchanged brief nods with Eric. That meant they were somewhere about equal in the Vampire hierarchy. I was getting good at recognizing that sort of thing.

"Johann, Henri, Marcius, Tiberius." He acknowledged them, then telegraphed me a message: "_They are four of the finest hunters from the California court, this is good_."

I had to agree with him. All four approached me, and, one by one, bowed low and kissed my hand. "Madame Northman, enchante," said the one called Henri, and the others followed, each in their own language. It was really rather sweet.

"So how do we get up to the hills?" I asked, knowing that our rental car was strictly a city vehicle. Johann nodded at the ATVs.

"We're meant to be on a secret mission. They'll hear us coming a mile off."

"My wife has a very good point," said Eric, beaming at me. "We will drive as far as the picnic ground then fly the rest of the way. I assume you can all fly?"

The four Californian Vamps nodded. My heart sank to my stomach. Eric had taken me flying once before, on a tour of Bon Temps at night. It was not an experience I had enjoyed.

When we reached the picnic area he made it clear that he was not intending to repeat the experience.

"You will stay here, dear one. This could be dangerous, and I do not want to risk you getting hurt."

A little part of me couldn't help being pleased at his concern, but a much bigger part was just pissed off. "Eric, you're not leaving me here alone. Besides I can help."

He considered for a moment. "Fine, but I beg you, please don't do anything stupid or impulsive."

I was about to protest, but bit back the words, and let him wrap me in his powerful arms. I closed my eyes and we left the ground.

We landed deep in the woods and, sure enough, there was a small cabin. I took a very deep breath as Eric lowered me to the ground. So far; so good. My complacency was shattered by a cacophony of owls hooting. There were far too many to be natural. We had triggered some kind of alarm. The Vamps all shifted into attack mode.

"No, wait." I moved towards Johann. He was the most human looking of the four and was conveniently dressed in a close approximation of hiking gear.

Eric glared at me. "_Sookie, what the fuck_."

"_Attack is the best form of defense, lover. Isn't that what you always say_." I made sure my thoughts were a lot more confident than my feelings.

I took Johann's hand and guided him towards the door of the cabin. It opened before we could knock.

I put on my best damsel in distress voice. "Hey guys, you don't know how glad we are to find you. Our GPS is broken and we've been wandering around lost for hours. Could you point us in the right direction."

I counted nine Were in the room. They all looked quite young, and now they all looked confused. Our arrival wasn't part of their game plan. I took advantage of the moment of calm to scan the room. It was lit very dimly with oil lamps, and smelt strongly of alcohol. In one corner I could see a bed, and what looked like a body. '_Please, God, let her still be alive'_ I prayed silently.

A brawny arm grabbed me from behind, and a hand clamped over my mouth. "I know this woman, she is the human wife of the Vampire they call the Northman. I've seen her photograph."

"_Shit_," I thought. I knew that would get us into trouble. "_Eric_," I telegraphed to him. "_In here now. There are nine of them_." Nine to five was a pretty good ratio for vamps.

The Were who was holding me turned to stare as the four other Vamps rushed through the door. I took advantage of the moment to twist out of his hands and hurried over to the bed. The woman lying there looked terrible. Her makeup was smeared and her hair in tangles. She was naked apart from a pair of lace panties, but she was alive. Her hands were handcuffed to the bars at the end of the bed. I grabbed the handcuffs and pulled them apart as if they were made of the flimsiest cotton. I know it sounds crazy, but that's what happened. When you're in the middle of a mass slaughter somehow it doesn't seem so weird.

I held Lorrie's head against my breast as I untied her gag. "Don't look," I whispered to her, taking care to follow my own advice. I could hear the savage roar that only came from a Vampire in full blood lust. The young Weres were strong though, they were determined to fight back even though they must have known the odds were against them. The smell of blood was overwhelming. I knew I had to get us out of there quickly. They were all so out of control that any one of them could turn on us.

I could feel Lorrie sobbing in my arms.

"Shush, don't worry honey, it will all be over soon. Everything's going to be okay."

I picked up the shabby coverlet from the bed and fashioned it into a wrap to cover her, using the scarf that had been her gag to tie it round her tiny waist.

Guiding her in front of me, I hugged the walls of the cabin as we snuck out. Both Were and Vampire were too far gone in their savagery to notice us, and we made it safely out of the door and up to the trees. I lay her down on the blanket of pine needles, and focused my energies, hoping I wasn't going to have to fight off a gang of blood crazed Vamps

The Vampires were the only survivors of the fight. I could immediately tell that their blood lust had burnt itself out in the ferocity of the conflict. Eric exuded an air of calm which was quite at odds with the fact that he was covered in blood from head to toe.

We sat in the back of one of the ATVs as we drove down the mountain. I cradled Lorrie in my arms trying to comfort her. We picked up our own car back at the warehouse, and left the others to return their prize to the King's court. They had clearly been anticipating a fight one of the ATVs had several tarps in it that we could use to cover our seats. I didn't really want to have to return a rental car stained with blood and worse.

"You did well tonight." Eric said to me as we drove home.

"Gee, thanks." I was tired, and not in the mood to be patronized.

"I mean it, you were brave, and resourceful." He reached out to take my hand and lifted it to his lips for a kiss. I let it fall to his shoulders, stroking his hair and gently massaging his neck. We completed our journey in silence.

"You need to shower." He said as we entered the beach house.

'_Oh, yes_!' I thought. Showering with Eric had to be my number one favorite pastime.

"You have brains in your hair," he continued.

That was certainly a passion killer. He helped me strip my blood soaked clothes and pushed me into the shower, turning the full force of the jet to wash away the remnants of Were blood and gore which clung to me. I thought I was going to be sick, but managed to swallow back the bile.

He could sense my distress. He stripped off his own clothes, which naturally were even bloodier than mine. I wanted nothing more than to have him hold me, but I really wanted to get the blood out of his hair first.

When we had finally cleaned up and got rid of every trace he took me in his arms. There was something still bothering him, I could tell.

"Spit it out."

He looked puzzled.

"Whatever it is that's worrying you."

"It's the technology. Cloaking devices, early warning systems. Most Were are just into brute force, they don't have access to that kind of sophistication."

"So?" I couldn't quite pick up his thread.

"So either the Were are getting more sophisticated, or they are working for someone else who already is. I do not like either option."

I could see his point, but frankly I was exhausted. There was very little time left until dawn, and I wanted to spend it productively. I pulled him over to the bed, not caring that we were both still dripping wet. I had just begun to lavish some attention on his magnificent chest when his cellphone rang.

I'm sorry to say that Eric is one of those guys who just can't resist answering the phone, whatever else he is doing at the time. I slumped down on the bed beside him. He put the phone on speaker so I could hear. It was the Magister.

"You've done very well, very well indeed. The incident will be hushed up and no-one need ever know. You've earned a great deal of credit with Adolphus. He is in your debt and you can call on him for assistance at any time."

"Have you found out any more about the Were and who they were working for?" This was nagging away at Eric, he was worried and that wasn't a good thing.

"If you had the sense to take at least one of them prisoner instead of tearing them limb from limb it would have helped." The Magister's voice was cold.

"We may have a lead," he continued. The English woman who was with them placed a call to a photo agency, to alert the paparazzi. We'll need to investigate that further."

"Tell Sookie we have found the Fellowship Cell that was planning to attack the Hotel Carmilla. She has done very well, as usual." His praise for me was double edged, intended as a snub to Eric at the same time.

"I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation. I understand you have agreed to return to Las Vegas later this month?"

I sighed. I had managed to put that little obligation out of my mind.

"Yes. Have you any idea what Felipe wants with us?"

"No, I imagine it will be something to do with his Casinos though. They are his main source of income."

While I was speaking to the Magister, Eric's mouth had found my breasts and was paying them some serious attention. I could feel my breath speeding up. I needed to get the Magister off the phone, and fast.

"I have to go, Magister," I said breathlessly. "I'll call you when we get back to Louisiana."

"Good night my dear."

Eric snapped the phone shut and let it fall to the floor. I'd soon forgotten every word of the telephone conversation.

He could do that to me.


	5. Back Home

There's a bittersweet feeling about coming home after a truly wonderful vacation. I had missed my friends, and was even looking forward to catching up with Jason. But the time I had spent with Eric had been so special; I had to wonder if we would ever experience that kind of complete intimacy again.

We had timed our flight to land in Shreveport just after dark. It meant Eric having to use his detested travel coffin, but it would give us one more night together. He had told Pam that we were coming back tomorrow.

There were a few surprises in store for me as we drove up Hummingbird Road towards my old house. It was a dark night, with a waning moon, but as we turned into my drive it lit up like a Christmas tree. Security lights illuminated the entrance, which for the first time ever boasted a gate. My rutted old driveway was now level and gleaming white, and had a row of low lights on each side.

As the house came into view my mouth dropped open, and I found myself unable to speak. The old tin roof had been replaced with shingles. The outside had been repainted.

It was my house, but not as I knew it. It was as if an ageing movie star had transformed herself with plastic surgery. The old building was there but it was gleaming and shiny.

I got myself out of the car quickly before Eric could come round to open my door. I leant against it, arms folded.

"What is wrong, dear one? Are you not pleased with the work? You have complained often enough about the state of your driveway, and you know what it does to my suspension."

"Eric, I know the work needed doing, and I appreciate you thinking of it. I just wish you would consult me on these things. You're just so…" I struggled to find the word.

"High-handed?" He said with a wry smile.

"Yes, exactly. High-handed."

"Don't worry, if you feel like that, I'll leave the invoice in your name," he smirked.

I gave him a hard slap on his arm, which naturally had no impact whatsoever.

I fumbled in the bottom of my purse for my door keys as we walked up the steps, but Eric stopped me, jangling a new bunch in front of my face.

"I've had new security installed."

Before I could protest he continued, "If you want me, or any other Vampire to stay here, we need to be safe. There is now a warning system around the perimeter of your property. It will recognise any vehicle approaching, and alert you to anyone who enters on foot."

_Great_, I thought as he opened the outer porch and the front door, _that's going to be set off fifty times a night by every wild animal_.

"It is very sensitive, it can tell the difference between human and animal. It can even detect shifters." He laughed, but without his normal confidence, obviously still concerned about my reaction.

The house was in pitch darkness when we entered. I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. I stumbled around, grabbing onto Eric as I tried to find the light switch. "What have you done?" I asked.

"It's the very latest in light tight technology. My building company specialises in its installation. It can make any property vampire friendly."

I had to admit I was impressed. He seemed to have thought of everything. I picked up my bag and turned towards the bedroom, but he put out a hand to stop me.

"Sookie, I know you're going to be pissed off with me, and I should have asked you, I can see that now, but I've made a few changes."

I glared at him through narrowed eyes, motioning to him to continue.

"Your second bedroom, there was enough room under the closet to make a resting place. I've had it enlarged and made secure."

Well that wasn't too bad, it would be nice for him to be able to spend the night here if he wanted. I still hadn't decided what to do about this house. I knew that realistically Eric's house in Shreveport would have to be our main base, but I was sentimental and I couldn't bear to give up my old family home.

"I installed some computer equipment, so I can carry out my business from here if I wanted to." He was sounding even less confident now. "And," he hesitated then blurted out "I bought you a new bed. The old one just wasn't big enough."

I dropped my bag and raced into the bedroom. The new bed was huge, taking up most of the free space in the room. I had to admit it was beautiful. It looked antique, with an intricately carved wooden pillar on each corner. It was draped with fine white muslin, and wouldn't have been out of place in my favourite movie. Okay, Eric was high handed, and presumptuous, but this time I had to forgive him.

I turned round to see him leaning against the door frame, a look of concern on his face. I smiled and slowly unbuttoned my blouse.

"Since you've gone to the trouble of buying it, I guess we better test it out, don't you think?" I said, putting on my most seductive voice.

He needed no further invitation. Before I could prepare myself he had me down on the bed and was undoing the remaining buttons on my blouse.

"Just because I've forgiven you this time, don't think you can use sex to get away with this kind of behaviour in future." I had difficulty completing the sentence. He had started kissing me in earnest, something he was very, very good at.

He stopped and raised his head to look at me. "Are you saying you don't enjoy having sex with me?"

"Of course not, you know perfectly well that I love it. It's just not an answer to everything. Sometimes we have to talk as well."

"So what is it that you like best?" he said, proving my point by getting the subject right back to sex.

"This…?" he ran his fangs over my neck then kissed me just behind my ear, knowing that always turned me on.

"Mmm" I couldn't help a little moan

"This..?" He had moved his mouth down to my breasts, I moaned a little louder. His hand moved down between my legs and began to stroke. I knew I wouldn't be able to resist for much longer.

"What about this…? He slid further down my body, placing soft kissed on my inner thighs.

"All of it, just all of it," were the only words I could manage to utter, as he slid back up my body. I was so ready to feel him inside me, and he didn't disappoint. Every time we made love it just got better. He knew exactly how to prolong the excitement until neither of us could stand it any longer. He would hold his own completion back until he sensed that I was ready, and then bring us both over the edge is a cascade of golden pleasure.

"You make me feel alive, truly alive," he said softly as we lay holding each other. "Sometimes I almost feel that my cold, dead heart could beat again."

I hugged him tighter, and kissed him gently. At times like this I loved him so much; I thought my heart would burst with the joy of it.

Sex with Eric would exhaust even the fittest girl, and I must have fallen asleep by two am. The new bed was the most comfortable I had ever slept in, and I woke some time around ten the next morning feeling refreshed. Eric's clothes were strewn over what was left of the floor, so I guessed he was testing the new hidey-hole.

We'd stopped for a few supplies on the way back from the airport, so I was able to have my morning fix of coffee. I nearly spat out a mouthful when I saw the invoice for the work on the house. It came to over fifty thousand dollars. I could afford it easily with the money Godric had left me, but that wasn't the point. I was beginning to realise that being married to Eric was going to be a lot more challenging than I had bargained for.

On the surface he was a liberated kind of a guy. He could talk the talk of equality, but hundreds of years of being in control made it hard for him to walk the walk. I sighed. When I was with him the strength of his personality, and of our bond, overcame all my doubts. It was only when I was alone that they would creep back into my mind. Could this strange relationship really work?

I had a leisurely breakfast. I was looking forward to going to Merlotte's and catching up with Sam, Tara and Lafayette, but also a little apprehensive. My life had changed so much it was bound to affect the relationships I had with them.

I knew Tara was ambivalent. We had been the closest of friends since we were little, but it was inevitable that when one or the other of us got into a serious relationship with a guy, it was going to stretch the bonds of friendship between us. I was determined to maintain our relationship, but being married and living in Shreveport was going to make it hard.

Sam was cool as well. I had a strong suspicion that he had a bit of a thing for me, but he had never done anything about it, and I certainly hadn't done anything to encourage him. He was a good friend to me, and I didn't want to spoil it. On the surface he was friendly enough, but whether it was Eric or Vampires in general, I could tell he didn't really approve of my marriage.

Even Arlene was behaving strangely. I did the unthinkable and lowered my shields to listen in to her thoughts.

'_I'm going to have to tell someone before I go crazy. God I hope Terry can cope with this._'

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She looked at me for a moment, then without warning burst into tears. I took her by the arm and steered her out back to Sam's office.

"Sookie, I haven't told anyone this, not even Terry, so you must keep it a secret."

"Of course, sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I'm pregnant, with twins."

I kept my face straight. Arlene had been thirty-five for at least the last six years, so I could see why she was concerned. Having twins at her age wouldn't be easy.

"You'll be fine, Arlene. And Terry will be a great dad. They are his?" Her face fell and she glared at me.

"Of course they are. What do you think I am? I sure hope you're right though."

I gave her a big hug and reassured her that if she needed anything I would be happy to help out.

My last visit for the day was the one I was looking forward to the least. Bill Compton. I went home first, partly to freshen up, but mainly to see Eric before he had to head back to Shreveport and the reality of his position as Sheriff of Area 5.

My old car isn't fast, but I pushed it to the max to get home just after dark.

My front door was opened by a tall, blond, Viking sex god. Who was naked. I had always thought that the idea of going weak at the knees was a cliché of romantic fiction. I have to report that it is not.

"Honestly Eric, I could have been the mailman, what would you have done then?" I scolded him.

"That would depend on his inclinations." He smirked, then burst into laughter at the expression on my face. "Poor Sookie, sometimes you are so gullible. I knew it was you. The security system recognises the registered owner of every car – I have a link to the national driver ID database. Strictly illegal of course."

"Do you have to go back to Shreveport tonight?" I knew the answer but had to ask anyway.

He cupped my face in his hands and leant in close. His voice was no more than a whisper as he answered me. "Pam will stake us both if I don't attend to business. However I may be able to spare a few minutes to attend to your business, if you wish."

'_You're such an arrogant bastard sometimes_,' I thought to myself, intending to block the thought from him.

"Yes I am, my darling, but you love it really." He was smirking again, damn him.

I raised a hand to slap him as payback for his cheek, but with his lightning reflexes he had my arms pinned up against the wall. He could grasp both my wrists in one of his big hands, leaving the other free to unbutton my shorts and push them down. I shimmied my hips to help them on their way.

His eyes held mine the whole time, and although his actions were rough, his expression remained gentle. I knew that I could ask him to stop at any time and he would. I knew from some of the things the other girls had said to me that not all men would be so considerate. It surprised me a little, knowing that he was quite capable of extreme violence if he wished.

He lifted me up against the door, and I wrapped my legs around him, allowing him to thrust into me hard and fast. I pulled him to me as tightly as I could, encouraging him on. I couldn't get enough of him. He lowered his head to my neck, and I cried out as he bit me, then felt him shudder as we climaxed together. He lowered me back to the floor, holding me against him for a few minutes.

"I do have to go, lover. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You'll have a lot to catch up with. I'll stay here for a couple of days and leave you in peace."

"Are you sure you'll be alright. You are my wife, you should come to Shreveport with me."

"Eric, we're married, not joined at the hip. I've got some things to sort out here, and besides I want to spend some time with my friends. My brother has a new girlfriend and I haven't even met her yet."

He didn't look too happy as he went to the bedroom to get his clothes. I gave him an extra tight hug as he kissed me goodbye.

"I'll call you," he said as he walked down the steps, walking at human speed so I could follow his movements. "And Sookie, just come home whenever you're ready."


	6. New Boots and Panties

I smiled as I waved goodbye to Eric. There was a very strong temptation to run down the steps after him, but I had a point to make, to myself as much as to him. I didn't want to be a trophy wife with no life of my own. I would miss him, even for a couple of days, but I needed to keep my own identity, to be more than just Mrs Eric Northman.

Besides there was the business of Bill to take care of. I needed to make sure I had settled things with him. I steeled myself to take the walk across the cemetery. The first thing that struck me was the dramatic changes to Bill's old house. It was no longer the shabby, run down property he had inherited from old Jesse Compton. I wondered if his makeover was also courtesy of Viking Construction.

I was even more surprised when Arlene's daughter, Lisa, opened the door.

"Hi Aunt Sookie, how was your vacation?" She said as if it was the most normal thing in the world for her to be greeting me at the entrance to a Vampire's home. Bill appeared standing behind her.

"It's good to see you Sookie, you look well."

"You too Bill."

"I need to take Lisa home. Would you wait for me, I would like to catch up."

I agreed and made a show of settling myself down in the living room. As soon as he had left, I jumped up and took the opportunity to view his improvement work. The change was stunning. Where the walls had previously displayed peeling wallpaper with bare plaster in between, they had now been painted in tasteful shades of brown and beige, colours that suited Bill's personality. He had new furniture, and mood lighting in every room.

He had set up a study with a computer, which looked even bigger than Eric's. '_Men!_' I thought. There seemed to be quite a lot of official papers from the Bon Temps Town Council scattered around, many of them covered in his old fashioned handwriting.

"So you decided to stay in Bon Temps?" I asked when he had returned and made us both comfortable, me with a sweet tea, and him with a True Blood. He was still drinking my blood type I noted.

"Yes. Eric is right, much as I hate to admit it. Here I am under his protection. Sophie-Ann's ability to bear a grudge is legendary, and I do not wish to experience the full force of her wrath."

Bill was in trouble with Sophie-Anne on two counts, firstly because of what had happened to Lorena, and secondly for his failure to deliver a certain telepath into servitude at her court.

"And, uh…" I felt a little guilty at having poked around in his private business, "what's with all the Town Council papers?"

"There was a vacancy, and I was invited to stand for election. I was unopposed, so there I am."

I realized I was staring at him. The idea of Bill as a responsible citizen seemed odd, and the people of Bon Temps asking him to be one, even odder.

Since the VRA was passed, Vampires were now allowed to take up any political positions. In theory a Vampire could even run for President – they just had to be able to prove they had been born a US citizen in their human life. Of course nobody thought it would every happen, but then no-one had ever thought we would have a black president so who could tell. The Louisiana State Senate was still holding out against ratification, but the Bon Temps Town Council had obviously decided to ignore this.

"So how is it going? Do they mind that you can only operate at night?"

"It was a little awkward at first, but I have found ways to make it work. If I can't make a meeting I send my views in writing. Compared to the other councillors, I am very conscientious and hard working. I have enough to live on, so I'm not interested in bribes and kickbacks. I think they find it refreshing."

"Are you going to tell me what Lisa was doing here?"

"She started coming into Merlotte's in the evening. Arlene couldn't get a sitter so she had to bring Lisa and Coby to work with her. I didn't think that a bar was a suitable place for children, you know how it gets at night, and besides it was impossible for her to do her school work. I said she could come here instead."

"Are you sure it's wise to have a girl of her age alone with you at night?"

He looked puzzled. I realised that the popular obsession with child molesters was a recent phenomenon. I had to explain to him about how it might be seen. He looked horrified.

"Sookie, how could you think such a thing of me? Even in my human life, I would not have considered marrying a girl younger than sixteen. Lisa is lonely, her mother is preoccupied and she has no-one to turn to. I am just trying to help."

"She has a crush on you, you do realise that." I'd seen the signs as soon as I walked into the house and seen them together. Women notice that kind of thing. Bill just looked shocked.

"She is a child, Sookie, that would be quite inappropriate."

She was a child now, I thought, but in only a few years time she would be old enough to date. Bill would be unchanged. Lisa had never had a real father figure in her life. None of Arlene's marriages had lasted very long, and none of her ex's kept in touch with their children. I could see how she could be attracted to Bill. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing in time, but for now she needed to understand a few things. I decided to have a little talk with her as soon as I could.

As I walked back home, I reflected that my marriage seemed to have been the shot in the arm that Bill needed. Maybe it was because he realised that there was no longer any hope for him, perhaps he was looking for a way to get back at Eric, or to prove to me that I had made the wrong choice. Whatever the reason he seemed suddenly full of energy.

I knew it would take a while for us to re-establish our friendship. The animosity between him and Eric wasn't going to go away easily. But I found that I had enjoyed his company. I suspected that he would be a much better friend that he had been a lover. His old fashioned manners were comforting rather than irritating, and his concern for me was reassuring rather than controlling. He understood the Vampire world, which meant that I could share things with him, things that Tara or Jason just wouldn't understand.

I spent the next couple of days trying sort things out at home. I hadn't decided what to do with the house. I was determined not to sell it, but didn't want to leave it empty. Rental would probably be the best option, and that meant getting rid of my clutter. I chose a few keepsakes to take to Shreveport, and was ruthless about what to give to the Thrift Shop.

After three nights I was seriously missing Eric. I was delighted when his distinctive ringtone broke the silence in the room.

"Sookie, could you come over to Fangtasia." His voice was calm, but I knew he was hiding something. It wasn't just the emotion I could feel through the bond. He only asked me to come to the club if there was something important.

I pulled into a space in the employee's parking lot and went to the back door. He was waiting by his office door, and motioned me to come in, checking around to see that no one was watching. Sitting on his couch, looking shamefaced, was Arlene's son Coby.

"I found him outside the back door when I arrived. He won't speak to me. You need to find out what's wrong and get him back to Bon Temps. It could cost me my licence if I'm found with a minor on the premises during opening hours."

_Gee, Mr. Sympathetic_, I thought as he left the room.

"Coby, you need to tell me what you're doing here, and how you got here."

He sighed and took a deep breath. "I decided to run away. I thought Vampire Eric would help me, but he was horrible, he told me I had to go home."

"He was right Coby, you do need to go home. You're much too young to be out on your own. You need to tell me what you're running away from."

"It's the kids at school," he answered in a quiet voice. "They tease me because I don't know who my real Dad is, and now they're saying that Mom is going to marry a crazy guy. Last night a gang of them beat me up after school." He showed me the bruises on his arms and neck; I hadn't noticed them at first.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to take you back to Bon Temps, and tomorrow I'll pick you up after school and have a word with these kids."

Coby gave me a pitying look. "I don't think that will work Aunt Sookie. If you could get Eric to talk to them that would be different. I could arrange to meet them at the basketball court at nightfall. If he could just scare them a bit, maybe they'd back off."

I agreed to ask him. Leaving Coby with strict instructions not to go anywhere I went out to find Eric. He looked skeptical as I explained what I wanted him to do.

"So you expect me to turn up at this basketball court and act the cartoon Vampire to scare off these bullies. Do you really think this is an appropriate task for a Sheriff."

"It would be a big favor to me Eric. Coby and Lisa are almost like my own kids, I'd do anything for them, please say you'll help."

He nodded his agreement, but gave me a strange look. We'd had the discussion about not being able to have children. I'd tried to reassure him that it really didn't matter to me, but I hadn't been sure then that he was convinced, and I wasn't sure now.

"Now you're here, you need to speak to Pam, there is something to sort out."

Pam appeared by his side, responding immediately to the mention of her name.

"We are having an investiture on Friday. As Eric's wife you need to be by his side to greet the new Vampires. If you wish I could take you shopping to choose a suitable outfit."

I knew from my time with the Magister that this would be a very formal ceremony. Vampires who had decided to settle permanently in Area 5 would present themselves to Eric and swear allegiance to him, and through him to Queen Sophie-Ann Leclerq. For me to be at his side was a big deal, representing my acceptance into the Vampire hierarchy. I knew I had to make sure I wouldn't let him down.

My wardrobe was a lot more up market now than it had been before I met Eric, but Pam was a great stylist and I wasn't going to turn down a shopping trip with her. We arranged to meet at the Mall the following night, leaving me to get Coby home to Bon Temps.

We met up in a lingerie store. I was a few minutes late, and Pam had already picked out some items for me to try.

"There is something wrong with these panties you've chosen Pam. They aren't sewn up properly.

She regarded me as you might a particularly stupid five year old. "That is what they are meant to be like." She leant over and whispered to me, explaining their purpose. I felt myself go bright red.

"Here's the matching bra, try it on."

I peeked out of the dressing room cubicle. "I can't wear this Pam, there's nothing of it." There was barely enough material and under wiring to support me, and it left most of my breasts exposed to view.

"That's the point," she responded. "Eric will love it. Besides, Dear Abby says you need to maintain variety in your sex life to keep your husband interested."

"We've only been together a few months. Surely I don't need to start worrying yet?"

"Eric is easily bored, I should know." Pam's response didn't exactly fill me with confidence. "He has been very good so far, rejecting all the fangbangers who throw themselves at him. He has even been drinking True Blood, and you know how much he hates that. I think this is the least you could do in return."

Pam was right, and I made a special effort for the Investiture, spending the whole afternoon at the beauty parlour getting my nails and hair done. She had chosen a particularly spectacular dress for me. It was black and cut cleverly to accentuate my figure, but with a tasteful sweetheart neckline that hid more than it revealed. Pam was right about the underwear too. The contrast between the elegant exterior and the hidden secrets underneath had me feeling very sexy.

Eric was just as turned on as Pam had suggested he would be. He was always very tactile with me, even though he hated other people touching him. Tonight though he could barely keep his hands off me. As soon as the ceremonies were complete he hustled us off the stage and into a booth. A gin and tonic appeared in front of me, as if by magic. Eric busied himself stroking his hand up my leg.

I felt a wave of lust from him as his fingers reached the top of my thigh and discovered my little secret.

"My office, now," he ordered, barely giving me time to gulp down my drink.

"What else have you been hiding from me, my darling," he said as he shut the door behind us and backed me over towards his desk. His voice was dark and just a little menacing. I shivered with anticipation.

Very slowly he unzipped my dress and let it fall to my waist. His eyes widened in appreciation.

"You are very naughty, teasing me like this." He let the dress fall to the floor and I stepped out of it. He ran his cool hands over my body, taking advantage of the access he had through my barely there underwear. I could feel the heat building inside me.

He stepped back for a moment to shrug off his jacket and unfasten his pants, then in a swift movement, had me bent over the desk with my legs apart. He hadn't locked the door, and the thought that anyone could walk in on us turned me on even more. Sometimes I had to wonder what had happened to that innocent virgin I had been only a few months ago.

I hoped the music was loud enough to drown out my screams of pleasure, as Eric treated me to yet another master class in the art of love. He decided that having me on the desk wasn't enough, we had to christen the couch as well. That way, he would always have something good to think about when his duties were particularly boring. That was his excuse anyway.

It seemed that everyone had left when we finally got back to the bar. Only Pam was left, doing a final security check. She gave us a knowing smirk.

"So, sister, was Dear Abby right?"

"I think she was Pam, I definitely think she was."


	7. Vegas Two Times

It was the time of night I liked the best: first dark had passed some time ago but I was still in bed with Eric, resting against his broad chest with his arms gently wrapped around me.

This evening we'd enjoyed something of a sex mini-marathon. Eric liked to show me new positions, and I was taking Dear Abby's advice on the importance of maintaining variety in your sex life in order to keep your husband interested. I knew Pam set great store by Dear Abby, and I wasn't about to question her judgement.

Something wasn't quite right though. Normally we would just relax in post-coital bliss, sometimes in silence or perhaps making small talk about my day. Tonight he was continuing to gently stroke and tease me. I knew that he was up to his old tricks, using sex to try to distract me from something important. Well, I wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"You're going to have to tell me sooner or later, you might as well get it over with."

"Tell you what?"

"Whatever it is you're trying to avoid."

"Honestly, Sookie, why must you…"

I stopped him mid sentence, turning to face him.

"Eric, please don't lie to me."

He gave an artificial sigh. "I've had a message from Felipe de Castro, reminding me that we are committed to return to Las Vegas. He wants us there by Thursday."

Two days away. It didn't give me much time, although to be fair I didn't have to do much preparation. At least it gave me less time to worry about what to expect when we got there.

"I can't believe a whole month has gone so quickly." Even though the month had involved a great deal more incident than I had ever expected.

"Yes, my darling, our first month anniversary. I shall buy you a present when we arrive in Vegas." Eric laughed and pulled me into a passionate kiss.

I forced myself to get out of bed. Our lives were busy, and there was a lot to do before we left for yet more Vampire politics.

I had been trying to establish a new rhythm for my life in Shreveport. I wasn't prepared to give up daylight altogether, but I wanted to be able to spend as much time as possible with my Viking honey. Most days I would get up about mid-day, so I would get at least some daylight. Pam had enthusiastically taken me up on my offer to keep the books for Fangtasia, as my contribution to the partnership. I could understand why when I saw the state of Eric's financial records. To be honest, to call them records was an overstatement. They were just a pile of receipts and invoices shoved into a drawer.

I did try and get in a little 'me-time' as well. I'd maybe do some shopping, or catch up with friends, or even just read for a while. The one fixed point in the day was to be with Eric when he woke.

I tried to time it for a few minutes before nightfall. Eric was always incredibly horny when he woke. I felt it was my duty to be there for him, I was his wife after all. The fact that it was the most pleasurable part of the day was just co-incidental.

More than once I wondered what he used to do before we met. Sure, it was none of my business. I knew very well that even the slightest amount of jealousy over women Eric had known before me would be a recipe for disaster, but being me, I couldn't resist asking.

"So what did you use to do?"

"You won't like it when I tell you."

Great, I thought, that just makes me want to know even more. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"I used to go to Fangtasia just before opening time. There would always be a few girls hanging around the employees' entrance. I'd just pick one or two who took my fancy and have them in my office."

"Eww, Eric, that is gross."

"I don't see why, we were all consenting adults. They got what they wanted and so did I."

"So what do they do now?"

"I'm sure they are still there. There are other Vampires who can satisfy them. By the time I arrive they are long gone." 'Deal with it' his tone of voice made clear.

I'd started off down a train of thought, and that's a bit like a train on a railroad track, once you've set off you just have to carry on in the same direction.

"What about when we're not together, like last week when I was in Bon Temps?"

He stopped what he was doing and turned to face me, gently pushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Does this worry you?"

"I've tried not to think about it." Yes, by ruthlessly pushing the thought back down every time it threatened to bubble up.

"Give me credit for having some self-control, Sookie. I am perfectly capable of going several nights without feeding, or fucking."

I could tell from his tone of voice and choice of language that he was pissed off. I guess he had the right to be; I really shouldn't lay my insecurities on him. I felt sure Dear Abby would have something to say about that.

To show him I was sorry, I slid down his body, kissing at strategic points on the way down. I felt sure that a little practice of my newest skill would cheer him up. When I watched him throw his head back and moan in his ancient mother tongue, I knew I'd done the right thing.

Two days later found us back in familiar territory, in the private Anubis lounge at Shreveport airport. I was getting more used to flying now. I'd brought some schoolwork with me from my law course. Up until the wedding I had been making great progress with my on-line studies. The tutor that the Magister had arranged for me was convinced I could graduate within the year.

Recently though I'd been neglecting my studies and badly needed to do some catching up. We were taking a daytime flight so I would need to keep myself occupied by something other than worrying what Felipe had in store.

Felipe was obviously extremely keen to have our services, as he had spared no expense. The limo that met us at the airport had its own minibar, stocked with champagne and Royalty Blend. We had been booked into the Penthouse suite in his hotel. There was a small gift box on the seat as we got into the car. I didn't get a chance to open it as Eric, who was in his post wake-up horny mood, had me flat on my back on the seat. I tried to protest. Sex in a limo was so tacky. Besides we were bound to attract the attention of the paparazzi in a fancy car like this, and I had no wish to end up on the cover of the _National Enquirer._

"Mmm." It's very hard to protest when you're in the arms of a world-class smoocher. I had to pull his hand away from my slacks, which he was trying his best to unzip.

Eventually he got the message and pulled away. "Sookie, my lover, you are too cruel sometimes. You will drive me into the arms of the fangbangers."

He got a slap on the face for that. A hard one.

We barely had time to set down our bags in the hotel room when there was a knock on the door. I wasn't surprised. Two Vampire entered. Eric bowed low to the smaller man, and I followed his lead with a small curtsey. "Your Majesty," we said together. The other man, who was taller, and a lot less friendly, got a curt nod from Eric.

"_Victor Madden_." He telegraphed to me but said no more about him.

Felipe waved his hand. "Please, we have no need for formalities. I appreciate you coming to my assistance. I'll get straight to the point. Someone is trying to destabilise my casino. For the last few months there has been an unusual pattern of activity. It is driving away some of my biggest players and damaging our reputation.

I suspect they have rigged some of the tables, but I've had them all checked and I haven't been able to spot how it's being done. However some of the human employees must be involved."

"Which is where I come in." I interrupted, to save him the trouble.

"Yes, exactly. It should be very straightforward. All you have to do is observe the tables. Some of the human croupiers must be involved. I would like you to listen in and see if you can find out which they are. Then we will question them."

I was about to open my mouth, but Felipe spoke first. "The Magister has informed me of your terms. Any human guilty of wrongdoing will be handed over to the proper authorities. You have my word."

I looked at Eric, who gave me an almost imperceptible nod.

"If we just behave like any other couple out for a night of gambling, there is no reason to draw attention to ourselves," he continued. "In fact to make it more realistic, I think you should be my trophy wife. If you devote your full attention to fawning over me, that should provide you the perfect cover to listen in to the other humans." The smirk on Eric's face left me in no doubt that he would enjoy that very much indeed.

"I believe tonight is your anniversary," the King continued with a smile. "I shall leave you to enjoy it. Your work begins tomorrow." With that he left. I realised that the other Vampire had not spoken at all.

"What do you think?" I asked Eric after they had left.

"It does sound straightforward, but we must be on our guard. When it comes to Vampire affairs, things are often not as they seem."

'_Yeah, tell me about it_.' I thought. Eric laughed.

"I think we have some unfinished business, lover," he changed the subject, and shifted to his most seductive tone of voice. It never failed to send a shiver of anticipation through me, and tonight was no exception. I could feel the heat building from my core and flooding through my body.

I was wearing a plain black sleeveless blouse and black slacks, but underneath I had on Eric's favourite red lace bra and panties. I made a show of stripping off my clothes as slowly as I could, enjoying the lustful gaze spreading across his face.

In seconds, he had me on the bed. I soon forgot about Felipe, Victor, and every other Vampire in the US, apart from the one who was devoting himself to my pleasure.


	8. Casino Royale

Before I met Eric, my wardrobe had been very plain, just a few sundresses, jeans and T-shirts. Now, thanks to him, and to Pam, I had a fine selection of fancy gowns. As I sat in front of the mirror, applying a little makeup and watching him tease my hair into a fancy up-do, I felt like a little girl dressing up in mommy's clothes. It wasn't quite me yet, but I was doing my best to get used to it.

"You're the most gorgeous, adorable, sexiest woman here." Eric said as we took the elevator down to the Casino. Really he could do wonders for my ego.

Eric picked up some chips and we approached the roulette table. I was doing my best blond bimbo act. It was really quite fun, and I could tell Eric was enjoying it. I giggled a lot, hung on his arm and gave him admiring looks – he particularly enjoyed that part. Just to make sure the fun wasn't all one way I made sure to call him "baby" and "sweetie" as often as I could– I caught him rolling his eyes once, but otherwise he just had to suck it up.

The croupiers were all human so the plan was for me to listen into their thoughts and find out if they were involved, and if I could get any details of the scam. Eric had also suggested something else he would like me to try out, something I was much less convinced about. However I agreed to give it a go.

As we approached the table Eric acknowledged a young Vamp on the other side of the table. I was getting pretty good at picking up the subtleties of Vampire communication now, and believe me they are very subtle, so I understood that the younger Vamp didn't know Eric, but had just recognised that he was superior to him in the hierarchy. Sometimes Vampire were a lot like lions.

There was a big pile of chips on 28 black. Eric put his on 12 red. I focused hard on the croupier. He was hiding it well but I knew he was nervous. He was a strong broadcaster and I had no difficulty in picking up his thoughts. He was trying not to look at the young Vamp, but that very act was a dead giveaway.

"_Damn, he's put far too much on 28 black, it will draw attention to us. Why did they give me that arrogant little shit to work with? I know I'm getting a good cut, but the plan was to go more slowly_"

The wheel span around and Eric squeezed my arm. It was time to try out the plan. Trying hard to stay casual, I focused all my mental energy on 12 red. It's no easy feat I can tell you. I thought I caught the croupier giving me a look, but I didn't pick up anything from him. It seemed to me that the ball hung for an age over 28 black – in reality it was only a fraction of a second. Then at the last minute it seemed to swerve and dropped into 12 red.

"_Shit, shit, shit. How did that happen? The machine can't be faulty; it was only tested last night. I am dead; they're going to blame me. Yeah Mickey, look daggers at me, why don't you, let's just make the whole thing really obvious"_

Eric put on his best phony southern accent. "Well look daahlin' it must be beginners luck, or maybe you're the one whose lucky for me sweetie. Lets us go and get ourselves a drink to celebrate."

He picked up his considerable winnings and steered me firmly away from the table. We found a private booth in the far corner of the bar, but I still kept my voice to a whisper. "Eric, you are not going to keep that money, we cheated."

"You can't cheat a cheater – you saw the machine was rigged."

"I don't understand what I did though. I focused real hard on 12 red like you said."

"To be honest Sookie, I really don't understand it either. It must be something to do with the power you get from your Fairy blood, I just don't know. The sooner you meet with Niall and find out how to control it, the better it will be for us."

"To you, you mean."

"No, to all of us, including you."

"I am not going to use it to cheat and steal."

"I'm not suggesting you do, lover. If it would make you happy I will give all this money to charity."

"Yes that would make me feel an awful lot better."

"You know that I have my own charity."

"You've mentioned it, but I thought it was some kind of front for money-laundering."

"Of course not." He looked quite outraged. "The Northman Foundation is a well run organisation. It has trustees, it's all legal."

"And gives you some good tax breaks?"

"Of course, but it receives twenty five percent of my annual income so that seems only fair."

"What do you give money to?"

"Causes that interest me: some museums and archaeological projects in Sweden; War Veteran charities; Civil rights organisations. I could appoint you to the Board of Trustees if you wish, then you could influence the decisions."

I smiled. I had to confess that I liked it when I found out something unusual like this about Eric, something which made him seem just a little, well, human.

Then it was back to the serious stuff, and what we were going to do about what we had found out. Eric had recognised the young Vampire. He was called Mickey and he was associated with a nest in Chicago. Apparently they had a wide range of criminal interests. From what we had seen, Eric suspected that they were trying to destabilise the casino, perhaps with a view to taking it over. But he didn't think we knew enough yet – it would take a couple more nights to confirm our suspicions.

There was nothing more we could do this evening, so we stopped in the bar for a drink. I found myself just gazing at Eric. I would do that sometimes, just reflecting on how handsome he was, then I would realise I was in a public place and have to snap out of it. I hoped it was just the honeymoon phase; it was a little embarrassing, being so obviously in love with your own husband.

"Hey baby," I whispered, in what I hoped was my most seductive voice.

"Sookie, please, you know how I feel about that word."

I pouted: "Oh, I was just thinking about that emperor sized bed upstairs going all to waste."

We only just made it into the bedroom. I thought Eric was going to rip my clothes off in the lift and give the security guards a show. Once the door was shut he gave me the benefit of his full Viking Sex God repertoire.

I woke next day at my normal time. I called room service for some lunch, and settled down to watch the midday news. Things seemed very quiet out in the real world. I was pleased to see that the Fellowship cell that had planned to bomb the Hotel Carmilla in LA had been apprehended and were facing trial. They had a hotshot lawyer though, and the talking heads felt sure he could get them off.

Picking up the guest directory, I flicked through the Spa brochure. I could definitely benefit from a manicure and pedicure, and the hot stones treatment I'd had last time was so relaxing I thought I would give it a try. We had another heavy night ahead of us, so I figured I deserved a treat.

In the end, I got so relaxed that I spent all afternoon down there, until I realised with alarm that it was nearing first dark and I should be back upstairs. I hurried for the elevator.

As I approached our bedroom a strong arm gripped me around the waist. My first instinct was to smile. It was only when the other hand covered my mouth that I realised my mistake. My legs gave way beneath me and I lost consciousness.

I came to in a small room, a cell to be more accurate. No windows, no features. Just me in a chair, with my arms shackled at the wrists. I was still in my robe from the spa.

I recognised the Vampire Mickey as soon as he came into the room, but not the older Vampire with him. I tried to commit his face to memory. If I got out of here he was going to suffer.

"Not so cocky now are you, without Mr. Northman at your side."

"My husband is very powerful. He has contacts, he will find me."

"Yeah, yeah, well you go on telling yourself that, if it makes you feel better. I won't waste time. We know you have been snooping around, you will tell me what you've found out and who you have shared it with."

I knew perfectly well that only my silence would keep me alive. Once they had what they wanted, there was no way they would risk releasing me. I stared straight ahead, giving no reaction.

"Fine, be stubborn," Mickey continued. "There's no hurry, yet. I think a few days in here on your own might loosen your tongue. You should know that we have several options in mind to make you talk." Mickey gave me a very unpleasant look. I didn't need to be a mind reader to imagine what those options were likely to involve.

As they turned out the light and left I suddenly realised that they were going to just leave me strapped in the chair. I had a horrible feeling that food and water deprivation was also part of their plan. This was bad. I was reasonably strong. Eric and I often shared blood now, which helped. However I knew I would be able to hold out more than a couple of days. My other big problem was that sitting in pitch darkness there was no way to calculate the passage of time.

I'd been taken just after first dark. I'd definitely been in the room a couple of hours before my visitors arrived. I reckoned it was probably around midnight now. Tomorrow they would probably come back very soon after first dark. I had developed an unfortunate insight into the minds of torturers in my time with the Magister, and I knew they couldn't resist gloating over their victims.

Eric would surely be worried about me now. The problem was that I had no idea where I was. If I was still in Vegas he should be still within range of my thoughts. If not, I was in bigger trouble than I had thought.

I tried to reach out to him: "_Eric, I've been kidnapped. I think I'm in a basement somewhere but I have no idea where. Can you hear me_?" I repeated over and over.

I focused very hard on the shackle on my left wrist. I blocked out everything else and just visualised it popping open. Nothing.

Take a deep breath start again. I began to feel a strange tingle running all through my body. I heard a little click. I had done it. Was it safe to try the other one? I would wait just a little while longer. I needed a way of calculating about three hours by my reckoning. I decided to reflect on the story of my life. If I allowed five minutes per year that would be enough. It was really hard work keeping focused, but eventually I reached my wedding day. I allowed just a little extra time for that.

I could feel myself getting weaker. The right hand shackle took longer, but I forced myself to concentrate real hard and eventually it gave way.

Now the door. It would have bolts and a lock, probably top, bottom and middle. I imagined what they might look like and focused real hard. I have to confess I impressed myself when I heard a scraping noise from the bottom of the door.

I returned to my chair and waited a while. If there was anyone there I wanted to give them time to react. Nothing. I went through the same process with the other bolts. Now for the lock. That was going to be hardest of all. I closed my eyes tight and visualised it unlocking. To my amazement it worked.

I opened the door slowly and tentatively. A tiny amount of light was getting in, and I could just make out a staircase with a door at the top. Just as I was about to leave my prison, I heard the door open. It was too late to go back into the room. I tried the only other place and ducked under the stairs.

To my immense relief I heard a familiar voice echo in my head.

"_Sookie, my darling, are you there_?"

I jumped out from my hiding place and threw myself into Eric's arms.

"Thank God!" I think we both said it together.

"Quick, we don't have much time, it's only an hour to dawn."

It turned out that my captors had only taken me a few blocks from the hotel. That was their big mistake, as it meant that Eric had not only been able to hear me, but to follow the direction of my thoughts. He'd called security when I wasn't with him at first dark. They'd soon established that I wasn't in the hotel, and had set out to find me.

"Eric, it was that Vampire Mickey from the Casino, and another one I didn't recognise. I'd remember him if I saw him again though."

Eric nodded to the security guards who'd come with him. They jumped into their SUV and headed off. Meanwhile he picked me up, as if I weighed nothing, and carried me back to the car he had borrowed.

"I'm never going to let you out of my sight again." He said, once we were back in our room. He was trying to sound light-hearted but it wasn't working. Hearing the obvious concern in his voice made me feel a little better.

"Do you think Felipe was behind this?" I asked. I would feel better if I understood what was going on.

"It's possible, but I think it unlikely. He seemed genuinely concerned for your welfare, and gave every assistance with the search."

"Victor Madden then?"

"That is possible. However I think it is more likely that the out of state Vamps are the driving force. Felipe went after the Vampire Mickey, but he obviously knew we had found you as he fled town before we could find out who he was really working for."

"The one thing I am sure of lover," he continued after a long silence, "is that you must meet with the Prince Niall Brigant. Your fairy powers saved you today, but you need to be able to harness them more effectively. I shall redouble my efforts to contact him."

Right now I didn't care about Niall, or Felipe, or Victor, or Mickey. I just wanted a long hot bath, and to fall asleep in my husband's arms. It was the only place I could really feel safe.


	9. Author's Noteupdate

**Author's Note**

This is just a short recap for people who have been following the story and wonder where it has been for the last couple of months. Thanks for the reviews and comments, which I appreciate very much – please do continue to let me have your feedback. If you are reading the story from the beginning, jump this resume.

I've reworked and re-numbered the earlier chapters. I really hope this doesn't cause lots of confusion. The original chapters 1-8 are now 1-14 so when you get alerts for Chapters 10 through to 14 they will seem familiar as they are rewrites of those already posted. The new material starts at Chapter 15.

The good news is that I have now completed the story and will be posting the remaining seven chapters over the next fortnight.

_**The story so far**_:

Eric and Sookie have matched their existing Vampire bonding with a human wedding, despite the misgivings of their friends and family. It's obvious from the start that things are not going to be easy for them, as their honeymoon is interrupted by a request from the Magister to investigate a kidnapping.

It becomes clear that this is not an isolated incident when Sookie is kidnapped while working for Felipe de Castro in Las Vegas. Unknown to them a shadowy figure is intent on stirring up trouble in human-vampire relations.

Eric and Sookie also face some challenges making their relationship work on a personal level as they struggle to understand each other's feelings. They also have to cope with an unexpected level of attention as they become national celebrities.

Meanwhile, back in Bon Temps, Bill is taking mainstreaming to a new level as he joins the Town Council. He has also struck up an unlikely friendship with Arlene's daughter Lisa (which I must stress is entirely innocent, with no hint of anything inappropriate intended – she is like a daughter to him).

Unfortunately for all concerned, things are going to get worse with a new tragedy on the horizon…


	10. In the Hall of the Mountain King

**Sookie and Eric are on their way back to Shreveport, following the dramatic events in Las Vegas, but meanwhile, somewhere on the West Coast:**

"Why do I surround myself with imbeciles?"

Two Vampires looked up at the speaker. They were both on their knees on the polished marble floor, their wrists bound in silver. The younger one glared defiantly, the older was downcast, his expression pleading.

The woman on the couch giggled. She was naked apart from a pair of red lace panties. She turned onto her back, stretching out to make sure everyone had a good view of her artificially enhanced breasts. She smiled seductively at the Vampire who was sitting just above her on a raised platform. His chair was elaborately carved, and inlaid with ivory and gold. He ignored her.

A mirrored table was laid out with lines of cocaine. Turning back onto her side, she took a $50 note and snorted one of them, then another. She giggled again.

She couldn't see the look of disgust on the face of the Vampire sitting above her. He was a small man, and ugly. His hair was short and grey and his body wiry. His face had the creases of a life lived hard, as it had been before he was turned several millennia ago. There was no humor in his smile, only menace, his gold teeth glinting in the light. Like all Vampires he had perfect teeth of course, but he liked the sinister effect that having them put in had created.

Anyone entering the room would have known he was powerful. He didn't need the trappings of power: the submissive woman, the groveling victims. He chose to do that because it pleased him, excited him more than anything.

He ignored the woman, and focused instead on the two Vampire who were cowering in front of him.

"So, Mickey, perhaps you could remind me exactly what your mission in Vegas was. I would hate to punish you for something that was not your fault." His tone was low and menacing.

"It was as we agreed, Master, I was to destabilize De Castro's Casino in order to drive away the high rollers. If they couldn't trust the tables they would go elsewhere. I had several human employees working for me. They were all well aware of the price of failure. We were very careful to cover our tracks."

"And where exactly in this plan did we mention the kidnap of Northman's human?"

The expression on the young Vampire's face changed, losing its self-confidence.

"I thought…" he started, then hesitated.

"That was your first mistake, I do not pay you to think. Go on.."

"I heard about the failure in Los Angeles," he cast a gloating sideways glance at the other Vampire on the floor, "when Northman arrived with his human, I thought perhaps I could make up for it. They are almost as high profile now as Adolphus and his woman after all. I sought only to please you, Master."

He started to smirk, but changed his expression when he saw the fierce gaze on the Master's face.

"My intention was for us to be in Vegas for the long game, besides I do not want to upset the Northman, he has not yet taken sides. If he were to join us, it would be a great coup." He scowled briefly then continued, "Do you know how his woman managed to escape?"

"No, I was on my way back to the safe house when I realized he was coming for her. Naturally I left the city immediately."

"At least you managed to do one thing right. If he had caught you, you would not be here now to tell the tale. Do you think he knows who was involved?"

"No." The young Vampire tried to sound more confident than he felt.

The woman drained the glass of champagne standing on the table. Emboldened by drugs and drink she turned to face her Master. Trailing her hands up his legs she moved towards his groin and began to stroke him through his pants.

He ignored her and continued his interrogation, turning to the other Vampire.

"And you, your orders were clear: make sure the woman Lorrie Divine disappeared, permanently. What possessed you to trust such a task to Were?"

The captive mumbled something.

"Louder, I can't hear you."

"At night she is always with Adolphus and his courtiers, or out in public surrounded by photographers. I though that it would be easier to abduct her during daylight hours.

I had everything organized. I chose a group of Were who wanted to form an alliance with us, and paid them very well. I ensured that we had contacts in all the main photographers' agencies. You can rely on the paparazzi to know where any celebrity is, day or night." He smiled briefly at his own cleverness.

"I used the new cloaking device we have been developing to disguise their hiding place. We have been assured that it will hide any building or person from human, Were or Vampire."

"So how do you explain the fact that it all went so disastrously wrong?"

The Vampire almost squirmed with discomfort. He was forced to admit that he did not know.

"She must have been rescued by Vampires from the King's court. However I am sure that the Were did not betray us. I interrogated the Pack Master and he denied any knowledge of how it happened."

"You are a fool. Bring him here to me. I will extract the truth from him."

"I'm sorry Master, he did not survive my questioning." He stared down at the floor, not daring to meet the full anger on the Master's face.

"Imbeciles," he muttered again, more to himself than anyone else.

He turned his attention to the woman, who was unzipping his pants. He shifted forward in the chair to let her take him into her mouth. She was very skilled at her task, and besides he enjoyed seeing lust rising in the two Vampire in front of him as her perfect ass bobbed up and down in its tiny red thong.

He let them watch as the silence grew heavy around them. Finally he spoke.

"I am feeling merciful on this occasion. You will both spend a month in the cellar. Perhaps some time to reflect will help you follow your instructions properly next time."

A brawny Were guard entered the room and dragged them both away.

The Master turned his attention to the woman who was pleasuring him. He took her head roughly in his hands and forced her to swallow him deeper. He gazed out of the floor to ceiling windows, across the ocean. It was ironic, he thought, the view this house afforded added probably half a million to the price, but he could never really enjoy it. All he could see in the darkness was the distant light of ships on the horizon.

He had bought the place for the security and privacy it gave him. Perched high on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, it was approached only by a narrow winding track. The surrounding land was parched, burnt dry by successive years of bush fires. No-one could get anywhere near without alerting him.

The woman sucked harder and he could feel his completion approaching. He kept a firm hold on her head as he came, forcing her to swallow everything he could give her. She didn't seem to care. As she pulled away she wiped her mouth and reached for another glass of champagne, then turned to kneel over the table, racking herself another line of the white powder.

He took advantage of her change in position, forcing her down onto her hands and knees and tearing the thong away. He freed himself from his pants and thrust into her hard. She cried out, moans of pleasure at first, which were heightened as he bent down and bit into her neck. His bite grew harder, and her cries turned to pain. He ignored them and continued to attack with both his fangs and his cock, until finally he came inside her.

As he pulled out, he pushed her roughly aside sending her sprawling across the polished marble floor.

She was beginning to disgust him. He had spent enough money on her. Those breasts hadn't come cheap, plus the new teeth, and the Botox, but now she was starting to bore him, especially in her drink and drug-addled state.

He called for the Were guard: "Take her down to the cellar, they will need something to feed on."

He flicked a switch, turning on the hi-fi at full volume to drown out her screams.


	11. Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word

**Sookie is on her way back from Las Vegas, but the mental scars from her ordeal in the cellar are still with her.**

I sat alone in the first class cabin. It was still light outside, although as we flew back east the sun would soon set over the horizon. I was getting used to the fact that Anubis flight attendants, whether male or female, were always gorgeous. The two women who fussed over me were no exception. They were both tall and appeared to be physically perfect in every way. I wondered idly if their colleagues in economy class were equally lovely. Only the most recently turned Vampires flew economy class, the ones who hadn't had the same opportunity to make money as those turned before the Great Revelation.

I was just too damn tired to block out their thoughts. I wasn't completely surprised to find out that they were both wondering when Eric would wake, and hoping he wouldn't spend the whole journey in his travel coffin. I should have been pleased at the thought that Eric would join me soon, but I just felt numb.

The adrenalin rush I'd had after escaping that dank cellar had long since worn off. It had lasted long enough to get back to the hotel room and have some spectacular, 'I'm so glad to be alive', sex. Now I just felt empty inside, incapable of any emotion.

The attendants served what I was sure was fine champagne accompanied by fancy canapés. Right now they tasted like cardboard. Even the champagne was sour in my mouth.

Darkness fell, allowing Eric to rise and join me. The flight attendants were overjoyed. I noticed that they had freshened up their hair and make-up. Their uniforms seemed a little tighter too, maybe an extra button undone or a skirt hitched up a little. They made a great play of fussing over him. One bent down low so he could admire her impressive cleavage. The other had a sudden need to retrieve items from the overhead lockers, stretching so her skirt rode up her thighs and gave a flash of lacy panties.

I should have been pleased that Eric ignored them, and gave me his full attention. He kissed me gently, and held my hand, tracing soft patterns on my palm and the inside of my wrist. It was the kind of gentle foreplay that would normally turn me on, but right now it was doing nothing for me.

"Lets just snuggle, my darling," he said as the one of the women made up the full-length bed, which was a feature of the Anubis first class cabin. That sounded good, but every time I closed my eyes, the terror would return. Eventually he summoned the other, who brought a glass of water and two small white pills.

"I know you hate to do this, but you need to sleep. Just take these sedatives, they'll help."

They must have had the desired effect as the next thing I knew I was staggering off the plane, struggling to get back to full consciousness.

"Will you take me home," I asked Eric as we drove out of the airport.

"We are going home," he replied, sounding puzzled.

"I mean to Bon Temps."

He didn't reply. There was silence for several minutes before I could bring myself to look at his face. It was stony, with his lips set in a thin, hard line. A wave of strong emotion filled the car. I wasn't sure if it was anger or perhaps despair. I just knew it was bad.

"I didn't mean…." I reached out to touch his arm as I spoke, but he shrugged me off.

The silence grew more oppressive as we approached my old house. He opened the passenger door for me to get out, and carried my bag up to the front door, then turned to walk away.

"Eric,"

He stopped but didn't turn to look at me.

"Are you going to be okay? I just need a few days on my own to chill out."

"Oh don't worry about me," his voice was cold. I'll get my needs attended to. The fangbangers will be delighted I'm sure."

It was my turn to be furious. Couldn't he understand how I felt? I'd had it up to here with the Vampire world; I just wanted to be human for a few days. Two could play at his game, I thought.

"Fine. Well don't you worry about me either. I've got other choices if I need company." With that I went into the house and slammed the door.

I started to regret my words as soon as I heard his engine roar into life and disappear down the drive. Why couldn't he have been more understanding? Why did I have to be so stubborn?

I turned all the lights on and made my way to my bedroom. I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. I had the light tight shutter down, so there was no reference point in the outside world. When I finally gave up the idea of sleep and raised the shutters, I was shocked to find the sun high in the sky. Perhaps a few hours in the sun would help. I'd always been a summer person after all, and this was what I needed, the reminder that I'd once had a normal life.

The warmth of the afternoon sun finally did its job and I fell asleep. I don't even remember dreaming. It was after dark when I woke, brought back to consciousness by the chill of the evening.

I'd got as far as the porch when the disembodied metallic voice of the intruder alert announced that I had a visitor: '_Pamela Ravenscrof_t.'

The high-tech security system that Eric had installed could identify the registered owner of any approaching vehicle from its license plate. Of course that didn't mean it could recognize who was actually driving, which was just a tiny flaw. My stomach clenched. Could it be Eric? I kind of hoped so and dreaded it at the same time. I wrapped the rug more tightly around my shoulders, feeling more comfortable staying on the porch until I knew who my visitor was.

As the BMW convertible approached, I could see that the driver was dressed in pink – definitely Pam then.

As she walked towards me I took in her pink velour tracksuit with high-heeled white pumps. I'd read in a magazine that this was a fashion trend for the summer. I hadn't been convinced, but if anyone could carry off the look it had to be Pam.

I sat up and forced a smile as she approached, but she didn't return it.

"You are being childish and selfish my sister."

_Gee thanks Pam_, I thought. _Tell it like it is why don't you?_

"You weren't the one locked in the cellar, wondering just how many Vamps were going to come back and rape you. Maybe you wouldn't be so …" I struggled for the right word, "blasé, if you had been."

"Grow up, Sookie. You knew what you were signing up for when you agreed to marry Eric. If you want to swap hard luck stories, go ahead. I can assure you mine will beat yours any day."

A part of me that felt very uncomfortable had to acknowledge that Pam was right. If I didn't want all this I should have walked away a long time ago. It didn't stop me being pissed off with Eric though.

Sending Pam, instead of coming to see me himself, was cowardly in my book. I was going to say as much, but bit back the words. If Eric found out I'd accused him of being a coward there was a very strong chance he would never speak to me again. Perhaps honesty would be the best policy, as my Gran had always advised. Maybe Pam could channel 'Dear Abby' for me. I could feel my voice start to catch.

"I guess I am being stubborn, Pam." Tears were already pricking at my eyes.

She rolled her eyes in acknowledgement. "Please don't leak. I do so hate it when you do that." She could be brutal when she chose, but the harshness of her tone brought me back from the brink of tears.

"It's just that I need him to understand how difficult this all is for me. I mean, less than two years ago you people were something I'd seen on TV or in the movies, I would never have believed you were real. Now I'm in the centre of some kind of storm, and I don't even understand what's really going on. Then all Eric can do is threaten to leave me for a fangbanger." Okay, I was exaggerating, he hadn't exactly threatened to leave me, but I still thought I had a point.

"He's been drinking True Blood."

That shut me up. I knew how much Eric hated True Blood.

"What shall I do Pam? I never expected things to get out of hand like this. I just need to know that he understands how I feel."

Pam was doing that eye-rolling thing again. "Sookie, you need to remember a few things about Eric. Like, he's over a thousand years old, he's a Viking, he's Sheriff of Area 5. He will never be some wet-ass, liberal, new man."

I was doing an awful lot of sighing. "Okay, I'll call him, I'll apologize."

"Good," she said, and turned on her heel to sashay back to her convertible.

I retrieved my cell phone from the house and sat on the porch swing. I pulled up Eric's number on speed dial and sat there staring at it for all of five minutes. I'd never been good at apologizing. My Gran had said I could be stubborn as a mule sometimes, and I guess she was right. It had to be done though. I pushed the call button.

He answered on the first ring. I took in a breath but he spoke before I could utter a word: "Sookie, darling, I'm on my way."

That gave me about thirty minutes to compose myself. I hurried inside to change into something more suitable.

I was wrong, barely twenty minutes had passed when I heard that now familiar metallic voice "_Eric Northman_" followed by the roar of his Corvette as it raced up the drive, scattering the newly laid gravel. One day I was going to change his ringtone to '_Bat out of Hell'_. That would suit him extremely well I thought_._

He ran up the steps to the porch where I was waiting and lifted me effortlessly to swing me around. If it had been a scene in a movie I would probably have laughed, it was so corny. He planted a big smacker of a kiss on my lips before setting me down. I took his hand and led him into the living room.

"Pam has been explaining to me that I need to be more understanding and considerate of your feelings." He looked a little contrite, to my surprise.

I laughed. "Yeah, well she's been explaining to me that I shouldn't be so selfish and demanding."

"I think she should have her own advice column, perhaps I shall call the editor of the Shreveport Times and suggest it."

"You're thinking too small, it should definitely be 'American Vampire'."

We both laughed long and hard. Okay, the joke wasn't that funny, but it broke the tension between us. We were both stubborn and proud, and apologizing didn't come easy. Eric took away the need for further conversation by kissing me again, long and hard this time. I was just slipping my hands down to the belt of his jeans when he unexpectedly pulled away.

He looked around expectantly, and I could have sworn that he actually sniffed the air.

"Sookie, you need to prepare yourself. Prince Niall Brigant, your Great Grandfather is coming. I was able to get a message to him, and he promised to visit you as soon as he could."

"The intruder alarm hasn't gone off."

"Do you really think humans could make an alarm which could detect the Fae?"

I shrugged. "Well I guess I better go outside and wait for him. Are you coming?"

"I can't, I'm going to the resting place. Once I'm there you must cover the door with something heavy so that I can't get out."

I must have looked completely bewildered as he continued: "You know that the scent of fairy is intoxicating to Vampire. An old, pure blood such as the Prince would be in great danger. I would not be able to stop myself from attacking him. This is necessary to protect us both."

I did as he asked, and went outside to sit on the porch swing and wait. Of all the surreal things that had happened to me in the last couple of years, this had to be the strangest. I still remembered the shock I felt when my Gran had confessed on her deathbed that the man I had thought was my grandfather was nothing of the sort, at least not biologically. Unable to have children, she had turned to Fintan, son of a Prince of the race of Fairies who still lived in the human world. Now I was going to meet my real great grandfather.

_**A/N. In the UK we have something called Automatic Number Plate Recognition, which links CCTV Cameras to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database. It means the Police and other agencies can instantly pull up the record of any car to check the registered owner and any criminal record or license violations.**_


	12. Can you feel the force

The man who walked up the drive was ethereally beautiful. Where Vampires have a cool glow, he seemed to shimmer. He looked about forty years old, but something in the way he moved made it clear he was much, much older. His hair was long and golden, tied loosely back, revealing his ears which had just the hint of a point. As he got closer I could see that his eyes were bright green, and that his skin was traced with fine lines.

He walked up the porch steps towards me. I gazed at him, transfixed by his beauty. Then, remembering my manners, I stood to greet him. I held out my hands. He took them and raised first one then the other to his lips.

"My child, I have watched you so long from afar."

I could have done with you a bit closer, I thought, unkindly, but said nothing.

"What do you know about me?" he continued.

"Eric, my husband…"

Niall inclined his head to acknowledge that he was aware of our relationship.

"He has explained that you are a Prince of the Fairy, and that there are few of you left now in the world. My Grandmother told me, just before she died, that a fairy was my biological Grandfather. That's all I know, really."

"Your true Grandfather, Fintan, was actually half Fae. He was my son by a human woman. Your father was therefore a quarter Fae, and you and your brother one eighth."

"So how come Jason doesn't seem to have any special powers. Apart from being irresistible to women."

"Your brother inherited only the small amount of fairy blood passed down from Fintan. It is what gives him his strong sexual attraction but no more. You are different. You were already living with us in the realm of the Fae; we needed a way for you to be reborn in the human world. This was why Fintan sought out your Grandmother."

I couldn't quite grasp what he was trying to tell me. I asked him to start again from the beginning.

"You have lived on earth before as a human, more than once. Your last human life ended suddenly, and in order to protect you we took you into the realm of the Fae. I gave permission for you to be given additional powers, which I hoped would protect you in your life to come."

"Are you saying I've been re-incarnated?"

"Not exactly: you did not die. Claudine, your cousin managed to reach you at the moment of your death. She rescued you and took you into the land of the Fae."

"So how come I don't remember anything of my previous life, or my time in your world?"

"You were not ready to know. You may have had dreams which recalled these experiences, but you could not know the whole truth."

"Why did you choose my grandmother, and why Bon Temps? It's a bit of a backwater isn't it?"

"It could have been Monroe, Benton, Gilliam or any number of small towns in northern Louisiana. Fintan had to find the right woman, one with character who would be open minded enough to be able to support you as you grew up."

"You sound as if you knew that something bad was going to happen to my parents?"

"We always feared for them. Some in the land of Fae did not want to release you back to the earth. They were opposed to your relationship with the Vampire and did not want to see it rekindled. I was concerned at what they might do. The flash flood that killed your parents was no accident. You were meant to be in the car with them than evening. I managed to ensure that you were taken ill, so that you were safe in your Grandmother's house."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He had deliberately sacrificed my parents' lives. It appeared that he didn't care at all. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind.

"So why are you finally telling me this now?"

"These are dangerous times. You need to rediscover your powers. You will need them to protect yourself, and those you love."

"Like Eric you mean."

"Yes, like the Viking. It is true he is not the companion I would have chosen for you, but you had established a connection with him. This is why Fintan was sent to northern Louisiana."

"Was Eric already here?"

"He was in New Orleans, at the court of Queen Sophie-Ann Leclerq. However some of us have the power of seeing into the future. We knew that his future would lead him to northern Louisiana. If we ensured that you would be here too, your paths were certain to cross."

"So did I know Eric in that previous life you spoke of?"

"Yes, my dear, you did. You and he have been married before. Neither of you remember, but it established a connection between you which cannot be broken."

He put his hands on either side of my face and gazed deep into my eyes. As I stared back at him the strangest visions danced in my head. I was no longer in Bon Temps. I was transported to a land where the trees and flowers were more exotic than anything I had ever seen. The colors were more vibrant, the scents more powerful, the sounds more musical. Imagine how Dorothy felt when she went from Kansas to Oz and you'll get the idea. The thing was it did seem strangely familiar.

What I really wanted to know from him was more about the unexpected forces that I seemed to be able to unleash.

"The power of the Fae is drawn from the natural world. It is part of the life force of the planet. A full-blooded Fairy can channel it at will, bend it to our wish and control the physical environment. However the power is weakened by every tree that is destroyed, every pasture that becomes desert, every species that becomes extinct."

I could understand why their race was getting weaker. Even with my limited interest in current affairs I was aware of the sort of damage that was being done to the environment.

"So how do I control it?"

"We taught you while you lived among us. You have been able to channel it naturally when you are angry enough. You just have to believe that you can do it, focus all your energy and it will happen. Try now. Try to lift that plant."

He pointed to a pot plant sitting on a stand at the other end of the porch. I took a deep breath and concentrated with all my energy.

Nothing.

I tried again.

"You don't have to force it, my child. You're trying too hard. Just speak to it, tell it what you want it to do."

It all sounded like the plot from a movie. A vision of Niall as Yoda and myself as Luke Skywalker popped into my head. I had to stop myself from breaking into a nervous giggle.

"Don't worry, it will seem strange at first. You just need to practice."

I took several deep breaths to calm myself. Then I looked at the plant again.

'_I want you to lift up and stay there_.' I tried to imagine I was speaking to Coby or Lisa and not to an inanimate object. To my amazement it did just that, for a couple of seconds at least, before crashing to the ground and scattering earth everywhere.

"You need to be very specific in your instructions. Tell it exactly how long it should stay there."

Okay so Niall could read my thoughts, no surprise there I guess. I wondered if I could get the dirt to clean itself up.

'_I want all the soil back in the pot, I want the plant replanted neatly, and set back on the shelf._' I thought with a smug grin. To my amazement, that's exactly what happened.

"I cannot stay with you for long, my dear. I need you to practice, try out these skills. If you ever need me, just call and I will come to you if I can." Then with a 'poof' he was gone.

I stared at the space where he had been standing for a full minute. This was all getting too weird. I'd just about adjusted to the idea that my Grandfather wasn't really my Grandfather, but the idea that I had lived before, and possibly known Eric in a previous life, that was going to take some getting used to.

Did he know any of this, I wondered. Boy was he in for a surprise when he found out about my new powers. I went inside to rescue him from the hidey-hole, trying to decide what to demonstrate first.


	13. Supercalifragilistic expialidocious

"So let me see some more of these powers of yours." Eric still sounded skeptical. He had a point, as the kitchen was littered with broken china from my failed attempt at remote control washing up, Mary Poppins style.

It was all about confidence, I reminded myself. Like riding a bicycle, once I got over the wobbles there would be no stopping me.

"I'm not really sure what I can do. Niall said that I could move objects provided I thought very clearly what I wanted them to do. It's all about clarity and concentration, he said. I think that's why it worked when I was angry, because my anger gave me focus."

"You could get my clothes to tidy themselves up," Eric smirked.

"In your dreams. I'm determined to train you to be tidy if it's the last thing I do."

"We should tell the Magister." He was quick to change the subject.

"No. I think the fewer people who know what I am capable of, the better."

He considered me for a few moments. "I do believe you are right, my lover. Now it is getting late, you should get some sleep."

I didn't think I could sleep after the emotional roller coaster I had been on. "Do you have to go back to Shreveport?"

"I do, but you could come with me."

I rubbed the back of my neck and looked at the floor.

"Sookie," he continued, "I do understand that you were upset, please believe that. However you need to know that it makes me unhappy when you run away from me and back to Bon Temps any time something upsets you."

I couldn't help but stare at him. This was the creature I had once thought incapable of feelings. He had claimed as much himself. The idea that I had the power to make him unhappy stunned me almost as much as learning about my fairy powers had.

He did have point about my behavior though. Twice in the last few weeks I'd been through a traumatic incident, and both times I'd coming running back here like it was some kind of security blanket.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think of it like that. I just…" I tailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

"I'm your husband and I will be there for you."

Maybe Pam was wrong about him not being a new man. He was being pretty forthcoming with his emotions, for a Vampire anyway.

I took one of his big hands in my two small ones and brought it up to my lips. "Let's go home." I said, and was rewarded with a brilliant smile. He picked me up as if I weighed nothing and carried me out to the car. He used his free hand to set the alarm system, and then we were gone.

I slept all through the next day, and was only woken by Eric trailing kisses down my body at first dark. I stretched lazily as he slid his hand between my legs and began to stroke me. "Oh yes," I moaned. I was being selfish but I just wanted him to pleasure me in every possible way.

My growing excitement was interrupted by the ring of his cell phone. It wasn't one of the personalized ring tones he had set up so he would know who was calling: 'Ride of the Valkyrie' for me, and 'You're so Vain' for Pam. It takes one to know one of course

He was about to throw the phone across the room when he recognized the number. "It is the Chairman of the National Vampire Council" he sighed, then was silent listening to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Is this really necessary? You must know that Sookie has been the victim of a difficult ordeal. She needs time to rest and this is not the time to drag her into more of our politics."

I was touched to hear Eric stand up for me, but unfortunately his pleading had no effect.

"I am aware of what you have been through, but the matters I have to discuss are most urgent. I must see you tonight."

"I will meet you at Fangtasia in…," Eric paused for a moment, the look on his face making it very clear what he was thinking, "…an hour."

I couldn't hear the response, but Eric's hiss of disgust as he snapped the phone shut made it clear that he wasn't happy. "He's coming here in forty-five minutes. That doesn't give me very much time."

"Time for what?" I asked with mock innocence.

"Time to ravish my lovely wife until I have her screaming for mercy."

I shivered with anticipation as he stripped off his vest and peeled down his jeans. He was, as always, very ready and so was I. This time there was nothing sweet about the way he made love to me. He thrust into me deep and hard, lifting my hips of the bed as I strained to meet him. I wrapped my legs tightly around his hips and dug my nails into his back. I welcomed his roughness, his urgency. It went deeper than passion, it was about possession. It was as if he feared that someone would try to take me away from him, and he was determined to prove through this act that we really were as one.

I cried out his name as I rode that golden wave of pleasure and crashed down over the other side. I was rewarded by his own cries of passion in his ancient mother tongue – a language which he only ever used with Pam and I.

He held me tightly, and kissed me gently as if to make up for his roughness. I didn't care, I just wanted him again. Sometimes I couldn't get enough. I returned his kiss with as much passion as I could. His eyes lit up with surprise and delight.

"Why my darling, are you ready for more?"

"Mmm, yes please," I said seductively. In an instant he had flipped me over onto my hands and knees on the bed. He used one hand to tip my hips up to the best angle at the same time managing to stimulate me with a finger. His other hand teased my breasts, tweaking and pinching. Combined with his hard and urgent thrusts right into my core I didn't think anything could give me more pleasure. We came together and I collapsed, pulling him down on top of me.

Eric heard the Chairman's approach from a distance, and making just the briefest effort at tidying himself up, went downstairs to meet him.

I needed a longer recovery time, and spent a few minutes stretched out on the bed luxuriating in the feeling of spent passion. I took a few moments to tidy my clothes and hair, more conscious than Eric had been of looking like someone who had been thoroughly and passionately fucked.

I could hear voices as I descended the stairs. I stopped just short of the door, waiting for them to finish their conversation.

"I'm not happy about this," Eric was saying. "I think it makes us too high profile."

"You agreed when we allowed you to marry her that this would be part of your role."

"She is not as strong as she may appear. She was badly affected by what happened to her in Vegas. I will not allow her to be put at risk again."

"You seem to forget that technically she is, what is the human term...on parole. She killed a Vampire, and she is expected to atone for it."

"Lorena was no great loss, particularly to our cause. She was vicious and vengeful, she had murdered many humans."

"That is true, but even so Vampires come first Northman, you would do well to remember that. There are more important things at stake than your wife's feelings. " The Chairman's tone was harsh. It made me shudder a little, realising how powerless I was in this world I had chosen. "I am not sure that you realise the severity of the threats facing us. I have something to show you that may make you more sensible to the seriousness of the position."

I felt a thrill of pleasure hearing Eric stand up for me, and a twinge of guilt that I had treated him so badly. I didn't want to eavesdrop any longer; it was time to make them aware of my presence. I ran down the remaining steps, knowing that they would both hear the slap of my bare feet against the wooden staircase.

Eric flashed me his most brilliant smile as I entered the room. The Chairman smiled as well, but without the same conviction.

"_You heard us, didn't you_?" Eric telegraphed to me.

"_How did you know?"_

"_I could hear your breathing on the stairs_."

"_Did the Chairman know?"_

"_I think his words were intended as much for you as for me."_

"I have some plans for you both," the Chairman continued.

"Please tell me they don't involve any detective work." I thought I was muttering under my breath, but he heard me of course.

"You have had rather a hard time recently. What I have in mind should be rather more pleasurable."

I wasn't sure anything the Vampire heirarchy had ever asked me to do had been pleasurable. Still I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

"We have a problem with Nan Flanagan."

I snorted; he wasn't the only one. I certainly had a big problem with her after the cruel way she had treated Godric.

"She's starting to piss people off. Last week she even beat Hillary Clinton and Madonna in the number one female ball-breaker poll."

Eric laughed long and hard at that one, forcing the Chairman to pause again.

"She has powerful allies in the National Vampire League," the Chairman continued when Eric finally stopped laughing, "so we cannot move against her directly. However if there were other Vampire in the public eye and her ratings were to plummet, even her allies might give her up."

Uh-oh. It was obvious which Vampire he was thinking of, otherwise why call us. I tried a diversionary tactic.

"What about Adolophus and Lorrie, they are always in the gossip columns and celebrity magazines."

"They are too high profile for what I have in mind. I want a couple who ordinary people can relate to. Nan has tried to brow-beat humans into accepting Vampires; I believe a more subtle approach is necessary."

"So what will this involve?" I asked, accepting the inevitable.

"Just a few publicity opportunities to start with. I have lined up a feature in Vanity Fair. Eric is going to appear in GQ's ten most influential Vampires supplement. Then I thought perhaps some TV appearances targeted at women: Oprah, The View, maybe even Ellen DeGeneres."

"You seem to have this very well thought out. Do we have a choice?"

"Technically, yes. But of course you are still officially serving your sentence for the murder of Lorena. And no Sheriff can ever be totally secure in their area. They can always be replaced if they no longer serve their purpose." At least he was direct in his threats, no beating around the bush.

I looked at Eric, giving him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "Fine, we'll do it. I'm sure everything will be okay."

"Before I go I must show you this. It is a worrying development."

He called up a section from this morning's 'Today' show on Eric's laptop. Meredith Vieria was talking about a series of gruesome murders. They had happened in different parts of the country: New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Washington State. What they all had in common was that the victims were either pregnant women or children. They seemed to have been chosen at random to cause maximum revulsion. The suspects in every case were Vampires.

"I am certain there is a link between these cases, but I have been unable to find it. They are unprovoked, and clearly designed to provoke animosity between Vampire and human. I may need your assistance in investigating them."

"I'll do anything I can," I said quickly. I felt bad that I hadn't heard about them, but I didn't get much time to watch TV. I had a sick feeling though. I knew the Chairman was right, they were connected. I also knew, with an awful certainty, that there were going to be more.


	14. Let the Good Times Roll

I was shaking with nerves as I sat in the dressing room at the television studios. I'd learned some relaxation techniques but I was too hyped up to know where to start.

Pam came back; she had somehow managed to track down a cup of sweet tea. She had been wonderful with the run up to our appearance on 'Oprah.' She had seemed to really enjoy herself helping us to prepare.

We had done several run throughs of the show, with Pam playing the part of the hostess. Eric had even roped in a few of the local Vamps to act the part of the audience, which they did with great enthusiasm, whooping and baying as Pam teased me with the most embarrassing questions she could think of.

She started again now: "So Sookie, can you tell us exactly what it is you see in millionaire sex god Eric Northman?" That had me in fits of hysterical giggles.

"Honestly Pam, you're not helping, I need to be calm for this."

"You're going to be fine, Sookie. Just be yourself. Pretend you are sitting in Merlotte's chatting. Come on, let's go see if Eric is ready yet."

He was sitting in his dressing room, looking as relaxed as if he were in the living room at home. He was wearing his trademark black vest and trousers of the softest black leather. He was also not wearing any underwear, something that was immediately obvious to even the most casual observer.

"You are not going on TV looking like that!"

"What is wrong dear one, I thought you liked these pants."

"I've got nothing against the pants, the problem is neither have you," I tried to keep a straight face and not snicker at my own joke.

"What do you think Pam? Should I give the audience a thrill?"

"I'm with Sookie on this one, they may be recording at night but it's still a daytime TV show."

Eric pouted, like a child denied a special treat. Just then I heard the voice I'd been dreading out in the corridor. "First call for Sookie Northman, ten minutes please."

"Wish me luck guys!" I said with a lot more enthusiasm than I actually felt.

Pam gave me a big hug, being careful not to smudge my make up or dislodge my artfully natural up-do. Eric took my hand and kissed it softly on the palm, running his tongue around in little circles. It was just the right thing to do, a gesture that soothed and thrilled me at the same time.

I walked down the corridor, accompanied by a stick-thin girl with a short skirt, high heels and clipboard. I'd seen her casting longing glances at Eric, and I could tell from her thoughts that she would willingly have performed any service for him. Unfortunately for her, he liked his women with a little more meat on them.

I could hear the amplified tones of one of the most familiar voices in America coming through the monitors.

"Ever since Vampires came out of the coffin and lived openly amongst us we've all been fascinated to know what their lives are really like. Our guest today knows better than most, as she is amongst the first humans to actually marry a vampire. Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs. Sookie Northman."

I fixed on my brightest smile and walked onto the stage. We had practiced this several times but I was still focused on not tripping up and making a fool of myself. Oprah stood up and we air kissed.

"Thanks for coming on the show. We have so many questions that I know the audience want to know the answers to, but perhaps you could tell us how you first met your husband?"

I relaxed, this was one of the questions we'd prepared. We had thought about what to leave out, which included any mention of Bill Compton. He was getting quite well known himself as the first Vampire town councilor in the States. We figured that sharing details about our relationship might cause complications for both of us.

"Well Oprah," I began in a confident tone, as if she was my best girlfriend, "you all know that Eric owns a bar in Shreveport, Fangtasia, well that's where we met."

"So was it love at first sight, did your eyes meet across a crowded room?"

"Not exactly. The first time I saw him, I thought he was terrifying. He has quite a presence you know, it was pretty intimidating for a small town girl like me."

"So what changed your mind?

"Well I guess you'd have to ask him, but for some reason he took an interest in me. Believe me he can be very charming if he sets his mind to it." I could swear you could hear the whole audience sigh at that point. They had no problem believing me.

"It must be quite challenging, living with a Vampire?"

"Sure, there are things you have to adjust to. It's hard to live mainly at night. I do miss the sun. But then I think every relationship is about making compromises. We're no different to any other couple when it comes to that."

"Does it upset you that you can't have children? It's true that all Vampire are infertile right?"

"Yes, but of course so are many other couples. I really don't think there is anything that special about us."

"Do you think Vampire-human couples should be able to adopt?"

"I think we should have the same rights as any other couple, if we choose to use them, but right now Eric has his business interests, and I'm studying for a law degree so these things take up pretty much all of our time."

"What did your family and friends think when you and Eric first got together?"

"I think some of them were a little worried at first. There are so many myths around you know. Since they've got to know him, it's been fine. My home town Bon Temps is very tolerant you know. We even have a Vampire on the town council." Okay I was exaggerating a little. Not everyone was pleased to see Eric and I together, but this show was all about normality.

Her questions carried on in the same vein. Nothing too challenging, but the audience seemed to lap it up, clapping and cheering at my answers. Eventually Oprah leant in just a little closer, a conspiratorial grin on her face. "Now, Sookie, you know the question that everyone is dying to ask. This is a family show of course, but perhaps you could give us just a little hint."

At that point though, the attention of the entire audience switched away from me. The screen behind us had lit up and was showing a much larger than life view of Eric waiting in the green room to be called onto the stage. He was lounging back on the couch, legs stretched out in front of him and arms clasped behind his head, showing every inch of his magnificent body.

The collective sigh of a couple of hundred hormonal women all consumed with lust is something I won't forget for a long time. I leant in closer to Oprah: "I think I should keep that as our little secret, don't you."

Oprah was a lot tougher with Eric than she had been with me. He didn't care of course, just charmed the audience with his brilliant smile and the sight of his gorgeous body. He had them in the palm of his hand from the minute he walked onto the set.

"Some people would say it was just opportunism, revealing yourselves as you did."

"I don't think you'd say that if you were in Africa or Eastern Europe," he responded with the utmost seriousness.

"But isn't it all about getting more business opportunities?"

"We managed pretty well before the Great Revelation. Now we have to deal with the IRS; I'm not sure that's a great step forward. Seriously though, Oprah, you know how we are contributing to the economy. We've opened up a lot of new business opportunities, and that will continue while our community grows."

I don't think the National Vampire Council could possibly have anticipated the frenzy which our appearance generated. Of course in the six years since vampires first revealed their presence amongst humans, the interest in them had shown no signs of abating. There were magazines, TV shows and hundreds of websites devoted to everything Vampire.

What was different was that this was the first time a vampire-human couple had talked so openly about their relationship. The show was picked up on both news and entertainment shows on every channel throughout the country. There were gossip pieces in magazines and deep and meaningful analysis of our every word in long newspaper articles. I was amazed that people could make so much out of something so trivial. We even got a page to ourselves on the 'Huffington Post'.

Eric was certainly a big hit. I couldn't believe the number of websites that were set up just in tribute to him. It's a strange feeling, I can tell you, to know that thousands of women all over the world are lusting over your husband, and discussing in great detail every aspect of his appearance.

There were paparazzi outside Fangtasia every night. Occasionally one would manage to gain entrance, which was guaranteed to incur the wrath of Pam. Her wrath is generally expressed in ways that are quite painful. Now you may call me unchristian but I just didn't care.

What worried me more was that they would find out where we lived, as this would put us in danger. Eric refused to give up his precious Corvette, even when I pointed out that it made us a sitting target. We had to drive to one of his safe houses, leave the car then fly. I found myself starting to feel sympathy with Britney Spears and Madonna.

Unfortunately for me, my home in Bon Temps was very easy to trace through public records. Although Eric's alarm system gave warning of intruders, it was impossible to keep them out as anyone could find a way in through the woods.

I had to return to the house one day to pick up some clothes I'd packed away. Two reporters were sitting on the porch swing. I could barely contain my fury. '_Don't you dare say one single word,_' I thought, focusing my attention hard on them. To my amazement, as I approached them their mouths opened and closed, but not a sound came out. They flapped about helplessly like two human goldfish. That was a pretty neat trick, I could think of a few people I would try that one on.

I ignored them and slammed the door behind me, just to make my point. It took a whole four hours for them to give up and leave, but which time it was well past first dark. Eric threatened to fly over the drain them when I rang him to explain why I was delayed, but I didn't think that was quite the effect the Magister intended.

What did work was the displacement of Nan Flanagan from the TV screens. She was still the official spokesman of the NVL, but no one wanted to speak to her. All the networks wanted Eric, knowing the effect he would have on their ratings.

Pam tried to reassure us that the fuss would eventually die down. Some new excitement would come along and take our place. I could only hope so. I'd known not to expect the quiet life when I'd married Eric, but I'd never expected to become a national celebrity.

**Meanwhile, somewhere on the West Coast.**

He had replaced the blonde with a pair of Thai twins. They had learned their considerable skills in the red light district of Bangkok. He was so easily bored by humans. After so many millennia of existence there was nothing they could do any more to surprise or interest him. He continued to go through the motions. It was necessary to him, just as the little sips of blood he took from time to time.

His guests would be arriving soon. He allowed one of the twins to bring him to completion while at the same time she was being pleasured by her sister. He would have them put on a little floor show. He had learned long ago the value of distraction during a negotiation. Even the most powerful Vampire would not necessarily be immune.

He greeted his visitors one by one as they arrived: the king of Arizona, the king of New Mexico, the cowgirl Queen of the north-western territories. She would appreciate the show, he was sure. If she managed to behave herself he might treat her with a private performance later.

They were all his children and it was through his influence that they had achieved their positions. As kings and queens of the states with the smaller Vampire communities, they had a lower profile and consequently seemed somewhat dull compared with the flamboyant Sophie-Ann Leclerq or the suave Felipe de Castro. However, he had placed them carefully in order to serve his purpose.

There was of course one who wasn't there. One who was not known even to their Vampire siblings. They had a very special purpose which would be fulfilled when the time was right.

"There will be entertainment and a chance to feed later," he began once everyone was settled, "but first to business. I am pleased with you all, my children. The humans are linking the murders and the blame is falling on Vampires. The mainstreamers are going to find this very hard to defend."

"Will the murders continue?"

"Oh yes, and I think we are going to bring them a little closer to home for some of our friends. I have something to show you." He flicked the remote control and a giant plasma screen flickered into life. The familiar notes of a TV talk show theme rang out. "It seems that someone has decided that we Vampire need a more human profile." The sneer in his voice was unmistakable.

"I have to admit, I never expected to see Eric Northman debase himself in this way. It should act as a warning to those who believe that we can consort with humans as our equals. However I have not given up hope that he may eventually see things our way. We need to find out more about this human he has taken as his wife. Let us have some entertainment, then I will tell you of my plan, and your parts in it. "


	15. Sometimes I feel like a motherless child

Sookie POV

"_Crap_," I cursed as I drove back along the parish road towards the turning for Hummingbird Lane. "_Shit_," and a few other choice obscenities. It was already dark, and Eric would be up waiting for me. It wasn't as if I had to be home before he rose at first dark, it was just that the time we could spend together was so inflexible that I hated to waste a minute of it.

Now that we had achieved some kind of celebrity status I'd had several offers to write magazine articles about my life with a vampire, or at least to have them ghost written for me. At this moment in time I wasn't quite ready for '_Gracious Sookie Northman welcomes us to the beautiful home she has created with millionaire husband Eric_'. We were getting quite enough attention as it was, and not all of it in a good way. But if I did ever write the article, number one of my list of negatives would be the tyranny of sun-up and sundown.

My mind was wandering so much I nearly missed the turn-off for my old house, and had to screech the car into a sharp left. I almost lost control, my heart racing as I narrowly avoided careering into the ditch.

We would often spend Sunday and Monday evenings in Bon Temps. Fangtasia was closed, and as much as Eric complained about the lack of modern conveniences in my old family home, I knew he liked to spend time there. His, or rather our, home in Shreveport was luxurious but it didn't have the atmosphere that comes from having generations of a family live in a house.

In Bon Temps we could play at being normal, away from the increasingly complicated and demanding world of vampire politics, which had already got me in serious trouble twice since our wedding.

During the days I would use the time to keep in touch with my friends. Today I'd wasted nearly an hour hanging around Arlene's trailer, waiting for her to come home. None of her neighbours knew where she had gone, but as she wasn't working at Merlotte's, I guessed she was probably shopping. It must have been a hell of a spree and eventually I gave up on her.

There was no sign of my Viking sweetie as I drove up to the house. I felt the briefest flash of concern; surely the security system would have alerted him to my approach? I had expected him to be pacing the deck. Believe me, I understand about possessiveness and how it can be only one step away from a dangerous kind of control. But since Eric isn't the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve these little signs that he cares for me are important.

I didn't expect the sounds that I heard as I got out of the car. The clash of metal; a boy's laughter, and Eric giving orders. His accent was more pronounced than usual, and as I rounded the side of the house I realized why. Eric was in the back yard with Arlene's son Coby, both illuminated by the bright security lights.

"Hold it higher, that's good, protect your face." He was wielding a huge long sword and appeared to be instructing Coby in the arts of Viking war craft. It took them a couple of minutes for them to notice me, but finally Coby dropped his sword and rushed over in my direction.

"Hey, Aunt Sookie, Eric is teaching me to fight like in the olden days."

Eric meanwhile had reached out to swat him on the rear with his weapon.

"Never let yourself be distracted, boy, no matter how lovely the distraction." He inclined his head to me in a gesture that came straight out of an old movie: think Charlton Heston, or Kirk Douglas.

Turning his attention back to Coby, his voice was stern: "I am serious, if you expect me to teach you, you must follow my instructions at all times. Distraction means death, as I found out to my cost."

I interrupted to bring the conversation back to the modern day: "Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I'm glad you all are having a good time. Coby, do you know where your momma is. I waited nearly an hour for her, but she didn't show."

"No Aunt Sookie, she hasn't been home since yesterday. Lisa is at Vampire Bill's and I was hungry, that's why I came here." He hung his head looking suitably neglected.

"Did Eric fix you something to eat?" I struggled to keep the astonishment out of my voice.

"I am capable of some simple tasks, you know." Eric sounded almost hurt by my lack of faith in his culinary skills. "There was bread, and some cold meats in your fridge, and coke. It wasn't that difficult."

I reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "That was real sweet of you, honey. Now where did these swords come from?"

"I promised Coby that if he kept out of trouble, I would teach him to fight. The boy needs to know how to defend himself, since he does not have a father to protect him." Eric could be very old fashioned about family life.

"He's the best, Aunt Sookie. He promised that if I work hard and get good grades at school I can come and work for him when I'm older."

"Well you do that then. Now we need to get you home."

"Aww, can't I stay here?"

I looked at Eric to get his opinion, but he just shrugged, unhelpfully.

"Okay, but you have to go to bed at nine, and leave a message on your Mom's machine to let her know where you are."

He grumbled under his breath at that.

"Now I am starving, I wonder if Eric would like to help get me some supper?"

He slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me into him, leaning down to whisper into my ear: "You're not the only one who's hungry, do I get to feed later as well?" His voice was so damn sexy, it made my insides melt.

I wondered how long these feelings would last. Would I always shiver at the sound of his voice, and heat up just from his touch?

Eric's friendship with Arlene's son Coby had to be amongst the most unusual in his existence. Generally he found humans boring and unworthy of his attention, but there was something about the freshness of the child's eye view of the world which intrigued him.

It had started a few weeks ago when Coby came to him for help with the school bullies. The way I heard it, Eric's intervention had the desired effect.

"It was totally awesome, Aunt Sookie. I set up a meeting with guys who were hassling me at the basketball court one evening. They thought I was going to take them on with a couple of other kids. Then Eric flew in; you should have seen their faces. I thought they were going to crap their pants."

The result was that Coby had a massive hero-worship crush on Eric. I honestly thought he would do anything for him. What it meant on this particular evening was an hour of Eric's battle stories from his human life. Coby listened with rapt attention.

My mind was wandering. It wasn't just that I'd heard some of the stories several times before, more that I was worried about Arlene. She'd always been unreliable of course, but it wasn't like her to leave the kids alone for so long. I knew she was getting uncomfortable about the amount of time Lisa was spending with Bill. I'd tried to reassure that Bill could be trusted around her daughter and that he wouldn't do anything inappropriate. She said she was cool about it, but I knew that wasn't what she really thought.

I decided to call Bill's house and speak to Lisa.

"Hi honey, have you heard from your Momma? We have Coby here and he has no idea where she is."

"She went over to a church meeting in Minden yesterday lunchtime. I haven't heard from her since. Her car does keep breaking down though, so I thought she probably had to stay over. That's why I came to Bill's."

"Okay, but if you hear from her, you let me know."

I didn't see what I could do. The Police wouldn't consider her a missing person until she'd been gone 48 hours. I would have to stay in Bon Temps tomorrow and check her out. I groaned. There were quite enough other things on my plate right now without having to search for Arlene.

Eric must have heard me groan. No surprise there. In an instant he was standing behind me, wrapping me in his arms.

"Trouble, my lover?"

I laid out the situation for him.

"We shall just have to make the most of tonight then," he was practically purring, his voice at its most seductive. "I think the young man is finally asleep." With that he scooped me up and carried me into the bedroom.

"This always reminds me of our first time together," he said, as we both peeled off our clothes.

"Is that a good memory?"

"Oh yes, it most certainly is."

Tonight I let him take complete control of our love-making. His mood was sensual and languorous. (My word-a-day calendar had been particularly helpful lately). There were times he could have me almost crying with frustration when he took things real slow, but tonight it suited my mood. I was happy to be brought to the edge, then let down, over and over again.

The part I liked best was having him deep inside me, holding me tight, so that we felt as one. He didn't withdraw immediately afterwards, but lay holding me, murmuring into my ear, sometimes in English, sometimes in more mysterious and beautiful languages. When we were together like this, I felt completely safe and protected.

As it turned out, I didn't have to wait forty-eight hours to report Arlene missing. I was woken by the security alarm announcing the imminent arrival of Sheriff Dearborn. Choosing a suitably modest robe, I headed for the door. I could see Coby already in the kitchen. Like most boys, he seemed to be ruled by his stomach and had already found himself a bowl of cereal.

I walked out onto the porch to meet the Sheriff. I already knew that whatever he had to say wouldn't be good.

I let down my shields as he mounted the steps. '_Those poor kids,' _he was thinking. I didn't need to hear any more to know what he was going to tell me.

I was taken back to the night my Gran died. The evidence was there right in front of me, but I was willing it not to be true. I felt the same mixture of anger, guilt and helplessness.

My legs began to give way, and I had to reach out to the porch railing for support. I managed to bring a finger from my other hand up to my lips, counseling Bud to keep his voice down.

"Coby's inside," I said as quietly as I could.

Luckily he took the hint and kept his voice low as he asked "Do you know where Lisa is, she wasn't at home."

"She's staying over with a friend, I have a number, I'll call her immediately." Some instinct told me that it was best not to let on who the friend was.

I wasn't sure I wanted to know what happened but he was going to tell me anyway. My relationship with Sheriff Dearborn, and with most of our local law enforcement community, had been under strain ever since I'd first started dating a Vampire.

Arlene's car had been found in a ditch, just outside Benton. It hadn't been an accident though. Her body had been drained. I spent just a little too long inside Bud's head, seeing the scene as if I was there. I also knew what he was hoping to prove.

"So you'll just pick on any Vampire you can pin this on. Honestly Bud, sometimes I think nothing has changed round here since the days when people would just choose the nearest black man to accuse of any crime going and lynch him."

I was getting really angry now. I was going to have to calm down before I did something I would regret.

"Arlene was my friend, she was a good friend. I owe it to her and the kids to help find whoever did this. But if you try to pin it on anyone in Bon Temps or Shreveport without good evidence, I swear Bud Dearborn, I will not rest until you are driven out of office."

"People round here think its one of your friends." He spat out the last word in disgust. "They have a point, you know. Why would anyone come from out of State to murder Arlene?"

He had a point, one which I could answer, if I chose to. The thought of that answer made me feel physically sick. This was because of me. Arlene was innocent, her unborn babies were innocent, and they had died because of me and Eric.

The worst of it was that right now I had no one to turn to for help. Eric and Bill wouldn't be up for hours so I would have to turn to a human friend.

Tara had never really liked Arlene, suspecting her of having rather old-fashioned views on some topics. Her own family life had been so dysfunctional that she couldn't be expected to support someone else's children. Sam would be good with the practicalities, and I knew I could rely on him to come through in a crisis.

I picked up my cell-phone and walked out of earshot of the house to call Sam. _Shit, Terry_, I thought as I waited for Sam to pick up. I hadn't asked if he knew yet. He was so fragile mentally, this could push him over the edge. Sam had to get to see him, and fast.

"Why was the Sheriff here, Aunt Sookie?" Coby had finished his breakfast and was standing on the porch. I finished my call to Sam, and walked back.

"We have to go and pick up Lisa, get your things."

I was just changing my own clothes when the security system exploded into action. There were six cars coming down the drive, all Bon Temps locals, and none of them my friends. This was definitely not good.

"Coby, is Eric's car still here?"

He affirmed that it was.

"Okay, I want you to get me one of the swords you were fencing with yesterday. Then I want you to sneak out the back and run over to Vampire Bill's house. You and Lisa stay there. Don't let anyone in, but make sure that if anyone comes to the door they know you are both in there. Do you understand?"

He looked very serious and very grown up as he nodded his head in acknowledgement. Poor kid, I thought, he's going to have to grow up very fast now.

I was waiting for them as they pulled up in the driveway. I lay Eric's sword down in front of my on the railings, hoping I wouldn't have to use it.


	16. Strange Fruit

Shirley 'Catfish' Hennessey was the ring-leader. He was Jason's boss from the road crew.

"If you'll just stand aside Miss Stackhouse, we've come for the Vamper, you don't need to get involved."

How typical of him to mind his manners, even for a lynching,

"It's Mrs. Northman to you, and if you're planning to attack my house, and my husband, I damn well think I am involved don't you?"

There were eight or ten guys behind him. I didn't recognize all of them, but they'd come armed with guns, or stakes tucked into their waistbands. I was overwhelmed by their thoughts: vicious, bitter and angry.

I had to keep control, and not give too much away. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, visualizing a thick glass wall surrounding the house, blocking their entry. I channeled every ounce of energy I had into my visualization. It was hard, but I managed it. As they approached the house, they bounced off an invisible wall.

I wanted to laugh out loud at their confusion but maintaining the shield was taking all of my energy. It soon became clear why these guys lived in Bon Temps and hadn't made it out to the city. After a few minutes of stumbling around looking confused, most of them headed off back to their cars.

Unfortunately for me, Catfish Hennessy was blessed with a few more brain cells than the rest of them. He ordered two guys from the road crew to stay behind and stop me from leaving.

As the others drove away, I picked up Eric's sword. It was heavy but I didn't have too much trouble holding it up: that's the benefit of vampire blood. I was going to have to let the protective shield down.

"You listen, you all. I can use this, and I will if you take a step closer."

"Yes Miss Sookie," they said in unison. They weren't much more than kids really, and now they were on their own most of the bravado had seeped out of them, leaving them looking apprehensive.

I picked up my phone again and hit the redial last number button.

"Sam, you have to get over to Bill's house right now. Lisa and Coby are inside, and there's a lynch mob on the way." If he shifted to his collie form, he would make it before they did.

Now I could do nothing but wait and pray. I remembered a lot of prayers in the hours that followed, as silence hung heavy in the house. The two boys outside had eventually drifted away. I could tell from their thoughts that they weren't expecting to get any action, and finally decided that a cold beer was preferable to the boredom of sitting outside my house all day.

Eventually the silence was broken by the security system, announcing the arrival of Sam Merlotte. I picked up the long-sword and took up position on the porch. After all, anyone could be driving Sam's truck.

As it drew nearer I could see the small forms of Coby and Lisa in the back. They leapt out and raced towards me.

"I scared them off, Aunt Sookie," Coby informed me proudly. "I did all the things Vampire Eric taught me."

"He was cool, and we weren't scared at all, were we?" Lisa sounded less sure of herself but determined to match her brother for bravery.

Poor kids, I thought to myself. They were going to need all their resilience in the days to come. It had taken me back to the sudden death of my parents, all those years ago. I'd been younger than Lisa and Coby of course, and I had always been a very reserved child. According to Gran I had completely turned in on myself for at least a year after the tragedy, barely speaking to anyone. I expected the shock to hit these two soon.

One thing was for sure, I was going to tell them the truth. When Rene died, Arlene had told them he'd gone on a vacation with Jesus. Naturally neither of them believed that, they weren't stupid after all. I wasn't sure how they would react to finding out that a Vampire had murdered their Mom, but they were best hearing it from me.

Sam was still looking pretty shaken up himself. I offered him a beer, which he downed in one.

"Are you sure you're okay, I really should be getting back to the bar, what with everything that's going down."

I kissed him on the cheek. "You're a good friend, Sam. You know I'll always appreciate that."

I put my arms round the children and guided them up into the house. They were a lot more subdued now, and watched me in silence as I whisked up some pancake mix.

"You know that none of this is your fault, don't you?"

They exchanged a look.

"I mean it. Your Mom was just picked on at random, it was nothing to do with you."

Neither of them would meet my eyes. Eventually Coby blurted out: "they called you the 'h' word, Auntie Sookie."

It took me a moment to realize what he meant. When I did it hit me full in the stomach with the force of an angry mule. What was worse, there was probably an element of truth. It was possible that Arlene had been chosen at random, but Bon Temps had been chosen because of me.

I was transported back to my childhood, and the sick guilt I had felt when my parents died. So many times when they were alive, I had wished for different parents. I had even prayed for a new Mom and Dad who would understand me and not be scared of me. After their accident, I was sure it was all my fault. Now that same guilt hit me again, but this time with good reason.

"Sookie, what the fuck is going on?" Eric had stormed out of the daytime resting place and into the kitchen, not even bothering to stop and take in his surroundings.

"Eric," I hissed, "children."

He managed to look faintly apologetic, before continuing in a calmer tone. "You were using your powers, I could feel it, even while I was…" he hesitated, glancing briefly at Lisa and Coby, who were both staring at him, "asleep."

The children raised their eyebrows in unison. Leaving them to their supper, I pulled Eric into the living room.

"I'm going to have to stay here for a while, baby. Lisa and Coby need me."

"Of course. I'll stay with you."

"You don't have to do that, I'll be fine. You know how Pam gets if you miss too many nights at Fangtasia."

"Pam needs to learn what is really important. I'm staying here with you."

I reached up to kiss him. "Remind me to tell you that I love you, when this is all over."

He was running his hands gently through my hair, as he loved to do, when his phone rang. '_You're so Vain'_: Pam's ring tone.

"Pam, I'm sure you must have heard what has happened here." He switched to speakerphone so I could listen to her reply.

"The whole country has heard, it's on every news channel. Unfortunately so has Queen Sophie-Ann. Eric you need to get back here."

"Pam, when I last checked, I believe I was your Master, I do not need to do anything." He kept his voice calm, but she would have been in no doubt how pissed off he was.

Nevertheless she carried on, repeating herself very slowly, as if talking to a recalcitrant child: "Eric, you need to get back here now. Andre is here."

I looked puzzled as he slammed the phone down on the coffee table.

"Andre is the Queen's favorite Child, and her second in command. I am afraid that Pam is correct, I do have to go."

To my surprise he went back into the kitchen before he left and spoke to Coby and Lisa. His tone was serious.

"I want you to know that you are under my protection. No harm will come to you. I will avenge what has happened to your mother."

With that he was gone. I could see that Lisa was beginning to sob very quietly. I picked her up and carried her over to the couch. As we settled ourselves, Coby crossed the room, and without a word, settled himself against my legs. We sat like that for at least an hour, all of us silent with our own thoughts, until finally I took them up to bed.

When I was alone, I idly flicked through the TV channels. Eric had premium cable installed, after complaining bitterly about my limited selection. I was stopped short when the familiar face of my dead friend appeared on the screen.

It had taken the news organizations a while to connect the series of murders, but Arlene's was the one that made the breakthrough. Overnight Bon Temps became the centre of the media universe. Main Street was filled with trucks, giant satellite dishes, and impossibly shiny news presenters. The vampire connection brought them in not only from all around the country, but from around the world.

Suddenly every resident was Arlene's best friend, and an expert on Vampires. It didn't take the reporters long to make the connection to me. Soon my phone was ringing off the hook. Luckily I could screen out most of the calls and only pick up my friends. Under the circumstances I was pleased to hear from my vampire neighbor, and newly appointed Town Council Spokesman.

"Hey, Bill, you looked great on TV."

"Thank you, Sookie, I hope you think the interview was a success."

"I don't think anyone else could have done it better. I don't think it will persuade the reporters to leave town yet, unfortunately."

"I think once they realize there is no link to any local vampire, their interest will wane. We just have to hope that no-one in Area five does anything stupid."

"You've heard that Andre is at Fangtasia?"

"Yeah, Eric is really pissed about that. He's having to tone down the dancing, and there's a big crackdown on vampires picking up humans." I knew this as Eric had been texting me most of the evening, his irritation growing increasingly obvious.

"I'm sure he'll cope." Bill didn't sound sympathetic.

"How's Jessica?" As the only other permanent vampire resident of Bon Temps, it would not be good news if the media picked up on her. It wouldn't take them long to make the link to the teenage girl whose disappearance had been headline news not so many months ago.

"She's here, lying low. Hoyt is with her, but no-one else knows where she is." He paused for a moment, but I could tell that he had something else to say, so I remained silent, waiting. Eventually he spoke again, clearing his throat in a strangely human, although unnecessary gesture. "The Magister will be here tomorrow at first dark, he needs to speak with you. I will send Hoyt over to look after the children."

I thought about protesting but there was no point. I suggested he bring Jessica with him. In fact it made a lot of sense for them to stay at my place. It was more secure for one thing, and it would distance Jessica from Bill. If anyone made that connection, all his good work would be for nothing.

I was too wound up to sleep. A mass of messy emotions seethed around in my stomach: guilt for bringing death to Bon Temps; worry about the children's future; fear for the future of human vampire relations.

As bad as I felt, I was sure Eric was feeling worse. I scrolled back through his texts for the evening. He was trying his hardest to maintain his self-control, but his growing irritation wasn't easy to hide.

It was getting very late when I finally began to succumb to tiredness. No sooner had I dozed off when the phone rang. The voice on the other end was quiet, but unmistakable.

"Has he gone?" I asked, not needing to use the name.

"Yes, Pam is hosting him, we felt that was safest."

"How long will he be with you?"

"I have no idea. There is nothing I can do. As the Queen's favorite, Andre has almost as much authority as her."

"The Magister is coming to see me tomorrow. Do you have any idea what he wants?"

"None, but I'll try to be there, if I can escape my new shadow."

"Mmm" I was so tired I could no longer form a coherent word, let alone a sentence.

"Don't worry, dear one, everything will be alright."


	17. Dead Men Walking

The Magister had two Vampire with him when he arrived at Bill's the following evening. I didn't recognise either of them. Bill was sitting in, mainly as a courtesy, although I think there was some recognition of his growing national profile. Eric was also there, he'd obviously managed to escape from his unwanted babysitter if only for a couple of hours.

"Mrs. Northman," the Magister began, with unusual formality, "I need you to undertake a mission for me. As you know, at least six motiveless murders have now been attributed to Vampires. However we have been checking the records and believe that there are at least ten more crimes, which were originally blamed on humans, which could be part of the series. Vampire have grown too good at covering their tracks. I need you to interview those who have been accused to check out their stories."

"Shouldn't we be leaving this to the FBI?" I asked.

"They do not have the resources, it has been shunted sideways to their vampire crime unit. After all, none of the victims were people of any importance."

"Except to their families and friends," I interrupted, unable to contain my outrage at his callous attitude."

"This is a national Vampire disaster. All our good work is being undone, you really cannot expect me to waste my time worrying about a few human victims."

"My friend has been murdered, her two unborn babies with her. Two children have been left motherless. That's the disaster."

"They are humans, it happens all the time. It is not my concern."

"Well it is my concern, and I'm staying here to look after Lisa and Coby."

"You forget yourself, my dear. You are part of our world now. You will follow my orders. Northman, control your wife, or I will control her for you."

I recoiled as if I had been slapped. The Magister's attitude didn't really surprise me, but his rudeness did. I knew better than to answer back, and instead channelled my anger at a spot on the floor. I had to force myself to be calmer when a faint trail of smoke began to rise from the wooden floorboards. I could see Eric struggling not to grin at the sight.

"I have agreement from my contacts within the Bureau for you to question some of the human suspects. They are housed in correctional institutions around the country, so it will probably take at least two weeks to see them all."

I opened my mouth to protest, but the look Eric gave me made me shut it again. Instead it was him who spoke.

"Do you think it is wise to bring my wife's abilities to the attention of the authorities? There is a risk they will try to annex her to their own ends."

"The Vampire Crime Unit is small and isolated, I have good contacts there. I will ensure she is protected. I will also arrange an escort for her."

So it was that the next morning I found myself on a small private plane bound for the Nebraska State Penitentiary Maximum Security Unit.

I'd spotted my escort as soon as I entered the departure lounge. His height and his shock of brown hair made him easily recognisable. My stomach did a little flip-flop as I he turned and smiled that lazy sensual smile of his. Of all the escorts the Magister could have chosen for me, Alcide Hervaux had to be the worst. Not that I didn't like him. That was the problem. If things had worked out differently we could have been an item. Hell, we could have been married with children. Eric knew that, which meant that if, or more likely when, he found out, he was going to be furious. Of course that sort of thing wouldn't have occurred to the Magister. He was probably just thinking about my safety.

"I thought you'd sworn off Vamps?" I asked him, trying to keep my voice calm and even.

"I would do if my fuckin' family could swear off getting into debt."

"Your Dad again?"

"No, big brother this time. Mind you, I wouldn't have refused this assignment." His grin was suggestive, which made me feel pretty uncomfortable."

"Well I appreciate you putting yourself out, I just hope it hasn't inconvenienced you too much." I said, as neutrally as I could, before turning to read my magazine.

He was right that I did need the protection. I've seen prison movies; cried through _'The Shawshank Redemption' _of course; but nothing could have prepared me for the reality of a Maximum Security Unit. The overwhelming smell was of sweat, and other less pleasant bodily fluids; the constant hum of conversation carried an undercurrent of threat as we passed by the main cell block towards the visitors' room.

The man I'd come to see couldn't have fit the gangbanger stereotype better if he had tried, right down to the _'cut here'_ line tattooed across his neck. The notes which the Magister had prepared for me said that his pregnant girlfriend had been found dead in their trailer. She'd been badly beaten. When he was arrested he was so drunk he could hardly stand, his only alibi that he'd spent the night in a lap-dancing bar. Unfortunately for him, none of the girls were willing to 'fess up to having seen him there.

"I ain't talking to no lawyer." He glared at me.

"We'll that's fine, I'm not a lawyer." I'd agreed my cover story with the Vampire Crime Unit. "I'm a researcher for the Bureau, they're carrying out an in-depth study of gang-related violence. If you're willing to help me out, it will look good on your record when you come up for parole."

"Oh, I'm going to be a good boy, keep my head down, do my time…._and then go after that bastard who killed Cindy-Lou and our baby." _The venom in his thoughts was so strong I knew he was telling the truth. I needed to find out more.

"I understand from your record that your wife had previously dated the leader of a local biker gang. I'm surprised he wasn't a suspect?"

Especially as he was a Were, although Eddie wasn't to know that.

He just raised an eyebrow. '_How long would I stay alive if I fingered him, I'll do ten to fifteen, then get out to have my revenge_.' His actual words were: "That was a couple of years ago. I left my gang then, you've got no reason to be interested in me."

What I was interested in was the Fellowship of the Sun logo tattooed on his shoulder. "Not a fan of the fang then?" I asked with a pointed glance.

"I hate them damned Vampers. One of them tried to steal my Cindy from right under my nose."

"So you didn't think they might be responsible for what happened to her."

He gave me a puzzled look, clearly thinking the idea was ridiculous. "There were no bite marks, and she wasn't drained, how could it be them?"

No wonder Vampire were so successful when humans were so narrow-minded.

Lincoln, Nebraska, is not known for its fancy hotels, but Alcide and I had been booked into a comfortable looking Holiday Inn. It was an unpleasant surprise to find that we had been booked into a double room. He offered to sleep on the floor, an idea which I rejected immediately. Luckily they were able to come up with an alternative. I did wonder how the mistake had been made. The Magister had a very efficient staff - it wasn't like them to get simple details wrong.

Alcide insisted on joining me for a nightcap. It was quite a novelty for me to keep normal human hours and I was struggling to adjust, suffering a kind of vampire jet-lag. He'd bought a bottle of bourbon, good quality, not the cheap brands from the hotel mini-bar. After a couple of glasses I began to relax. We'd been through a lot together, and there weren't many secrets between us. He updated me on his love life. I was pleased to hear that he'd met a really nice young Were – it was good to know it was possible for a Were bitch not to be a bitch. Of course I ended up sharing some secrets of my own. There wasn't really anyone I could talk to about some of the stresses and strains of living with Eric. It wasn't all sweetness and light after all.

Later that night as I lay in bed alone, trying to sleep, I reflected that I'd probably said too much. The combination of tiredness, alcohol, and a sympathetic ear had broken down my defences more than I would have liked.

I had managed a short conversation with Eric before I fell asleep, but was cut off by the arrival of Andre in his office. The Magister didn't contact me, but left me a detailed briefing on the next day's case with detailed instructions of where to go and who to contact.

My second victim couldn't have been more different from the first. Although his crime was identical, he was housed in a medium security unit.

He was a lawyer and according to the Magister's briefing he had connections with a capital 'C'. His over-confidence made him a strong broadcaster, and it was easy to discover that he had in fact murdered his trophy wife. He hadn't known she was pregnant, but as she was having an affair with his boss, he probably wouldn't have cared. He had tried to make it look like a break-in, and relied on his Police contacts to get him off. Unfortunately for him the DA's office were in the middle of a crack down on organised crime, and he got caught in the middle.

Over the next week I made five similar visits. All of them revealed innocent men, framed for a crime committed by another. The fact that I could do so little for them just added to my burden of guilt. The best I could do was to pass the information I had gleaned onto some campaigning lawyer and hope they could make a case of it.

As the visits stretched into a second week, I began to have doubts about the purpose of it all. I'd seen ten convicted murders. Two were, on the evidence of their thoughts, guilty. The other eight were victims of mistaken identity, most likely at the hands of vampires.

There wasn't much of a pattern to the crimes. They all took place in small towns, and most in the smaller states. My mission seemed increasingly pointless, but I had no choice but to continue to follow the Magister's instructions.

Alcide seemed to be enjoying himself. He was very attentive to me, without ever quite crossing the boundary marked 'inappropriate behaviour'. He did insist on taking me out to eat every evening. He seemed to have contacts at the best restaurants in every city and could always get us a good table. Unfortunately they were the type of establishments haunted by the Paparazzi. He did his best to avoid them, but I suspected they got a few shots. I just hoped Eric wouldn't see them before I could explain.

That was a novelty as well, sharing a meal with someone who ate as well. Eric was quite happy to eat out with me, but it can be quite disconcerting, sitting with someone just watch you eat.

"You know I've always liked you. Sometimes I wish things could have worked out differently." Alcide's statement came out of the blue, leaving me unsure how to react for a few moments.

We'd had a tiring couple of days. Long journeys between visits, followed by hours spent in hot and sweaty prison visiting blocks, and spending every night in a different hotel was beginning to take its toll. I probably shouldn't have followed up the bottle of champagne we shared with a brandy, I reflected as I fell off my high heels and was forced to grab onto Alcide's arm for support. He was only too happy to offer.

"Well that's very kind of you to say, but you know I'm also very married."

He raised an eyebrow.

"And Eric and I have a Vampire bond. I don't think that can be broken by anything as easy as a divorce."

"There are ways. If you ever wanted to, I know people who could help."

"No, thank you." I sounded as firm as I could although I suspected my words came out a little slurred. I was glad of his strong arm around my waist for support.

There was a message from the Magister waiting back at our hotel. The good news was that I was finally able to go back to Louisiana. The bad news was that the summons was to Sophie-Ann's court in New Orleans.

**Eric's office**

I had no enthusiasm for entertaining the patrons of Fangtasia. Pam had hired some new dancers but I was content to let her and Andre take responsibility for their induction. Andre's continued presence, and his interference in the minute details of my business were growing increasingly irksome.

What I couldn't deny, even if I had wanted to, was how much I was missing Sookie. We hadn't endured such a long separation since we had first become lovers. After so many centuries of self-reliance, it came as a shock to realised how quickly I had become dependent on another. It was not something I had anticipated. I had expected to control our relationship, for our marriage to be purely a convenience to satisfy her human sensibilities.

Pam tossed the copy of 'National Enquirer' onto my desk. '_Heat-seeking missile_' read the headline, above a picture of my wife in what could only be described as a clinch with the Were, Hervaux. They had been captured by the Paparazzi outside a restaurant in Phoenix. She was looking a little, what was the phrase, 'tired and emotional', and clinging on to him for support.

I had tried to phone her many times while she had been away, but her cell-phone went straight to voicemail each time. I couldn't believe that she would cheat on me. Pam took great delight in pointing out to me how attractive Hervaux was, and how warm blooded, and how well he and Sookie had always got along. The thought of the other things he was capable of was left hanging in the air, unsaid.

I tried to stay calm. She would be home soon and we could sort things out. In the meantime I amused myself by planning gruesome and painful tortures for the Were as a punishment for daring to even touch my woman.

**On the West Coast**

"I think things are now going according to plan."

"Finally. I was right to trust you."

"You know I will not let you down, Master."

"You have a weakness for the human though, that does not please me."

"She is much more than human, Master. She is a great-granddaughter of Prince Niall Brigant. That in itself is reason to ensure she is not harmed. Besides, when this is all over, she may be useful to us."

"Do you really think so? It seems most unlikely that we will need her, if all our plans come to fruition."

"We will still have to interact with the human world, even though the terms will be very different. We may still need her as an intermediary."

"I will consider what you say. Her marriage to Northman cannot remain though. That is completely unacceptable to me."

"I may have found a way to deal with that. If you follow the less salubrious media, it appears she may already be looking for an alternative. I have some other plans in place. Let us hope that forced intervention is not needed."

"Good. Come let us feed. I have managed to find us a virgin. Very rare and very satisfying, I am sure you will agree."

_**Author's Note: Thanks to those of you who have stuck with the story through the long break and the reposting. It would be great to get some feedback on the new chapters if you feel moved to hit the green button.**_


	18. Where did he stay?

I was surprised to be met at the gates of Sophie-Anne's palace by a Vampire. They normally had flunkies to attend to that sort of thing. It was not just any Vampire, but her second in command, and almost royal pain in the butt, Andre.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Northman. I have found my visit with your husband most enlightening." If there were a competition for smarmiest vampire, or for the most menacing, he would certainly give Felipe de Castro, King of Nevada, a run for his money.

"I'm very sorry that Queen Sophie-Anne is not here to greet you. She has been summoned to Las Vegas at short notice for an emergency meeting with some of the other monarchs. We are hosting a delegation from Arizona though. The Magister is here, and Pamela Ravenscroft."

My expression must have made it obvious that I was expecting another name to be added to that list.

"Oh, and your husband, Sheriff Northman of course." The first hint I had that something was wrong was the look which crossed his face. It was brief and he hid it quickly, but for a vampire even the briefest show of emotion was very telling.

Pam seemed unnaturally friendly as she met me at the door to the Queen's sun-room. She slipped her arm through mine in a friendly gesture that was most unusual for her. Concern about what to expect swirled around in my head, and in my stomach. My worst fears were realised as soon as we entered the room.

Eric was lounging by the pool, wearing a pair of tight-fitting, red, swimming trunks. He didn't notice me at first, all his attention focussed on the tiny oriental girl who was slowly kissing her way up his chest. Her ministrations were having the desired effect, that was clear from one look at his trunks.

At first I could not believe my eyes. For a start the girl was so far from being his normal type. She was so small and slim. Her face was exceptionally beautiful I had to admit, with delicate features and perfectly clear olive skin.

He knew I was in the room; I could feel it, but he didn't look at me.

"Come," said Pam, "the Magister is waiting for you."

Sophie-Anne had a boardroom set out for formal business meetings, and it was there that the Magister was waiting. He motioned to me to sit down, and sat silently, obviously waiting for me to speak.

"I've followed your instructions, I interviewed all of the suspects. Eight were innocent and two guilty, but I'm sure you knew that all along." I was tired and angry, and not in a mood to hide it.

"I needed your confirmation, my dear, please believe me it was an essential mission or I would not have required it. I hope Hervaux was good company for you." If I didn't know better I could have sworn that he had a hint of a smirk on his face.

I made a great effort to keep my face blank. Luckily my years of practice paid off.

"So is there anything else you need me for? I do have some urgent matters to attend to in Bon Temps." See, I could be just as pompous as him if I wanted to.

"I will know more when the emergency summit is over. Until then I think we have matters in hand here."

"Who is she, Pam?" I asked as we returned to the day room.

"All I know is that she is one of the human companions with the Arizona delegation. They are here on a trade mission. I believe she is a favourite of the King. Look, Sookie, I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for whatever it is Eric is doing. Although..." her voice tailed off.

"Although what?"

"He was seriously pissed about the photos of you and the Were."

I groaned when Pam explained about the Paparazzi shots. I'd tried to speak to Eric, just in case they did make the papers but he hadn't been answering his phone. Even though I could argue it wasn't my fault I felt a twinge of guilt. Alcide had been the perfect gentleman, most of the time anyway. But I couldn't deny that if he had tried to hit on me, I might not have resisted.

I badly needed to talk to Eric, to explain everything, but his oriental minder was stuck like a limpet and she was not letting go. Her delicate laughter rang across the room, and he was ignoring everyone around him, everyone except her. He bent his head down close to hers, as if every word she spoke was precious and he could not afford to miss a single one.

"They can do amazing tricks, I've heard, ping-pong balls and smoke rings..." said Pam unhelpfully.

I linked my arm through Pam's. "We should speak to the Arizona delegation, we must follow the protocol after all." She gave me a look. "You don't have to pity me, look we both knew this would happen eventually. I'm going to be dignified. I am his wife after all. I have status. I don't have to lower myself to her level." I wasn't even convincing myself, but all I cared about was getting out of that room.

He didn't come back to my bedroom that night. I woke several times in the night, reaching out each time, hoping to feel that big cool body in the bed next to mine, but nothing. The next morning I couldn't get out of the Palace quickly enough, even though I'd only had a few hours sleep. I left him a note, there was no need to be petty after all.

_Eric_

_I have to return to Bon Temps to check on Coby and Lisa. I will see you at home in Shreveport._

_Your loving wife_

_Sookie_

Hopefully it would make him feel just a little bit guilty.

I arrived back in Bon Temps with only minutes to spare before my appointment.

Even taking account of my flustered state, it was obvious from the moment I stepped into the room that the woman from the Louisiana State social services office was not going to be sympathetic.

"I'm here to talk about Coby and Lisa Fowler. I understand you are dealing with their case."

"Yes Ma'am." She said to my face. "_Cheap fangbanging whore, thinks she's a cut above just because she's been on TV. I wouldn't let those kids anywhere near her_," was what she was thinking.

"I've read the State adoption policy very carefully. It's clear that adopted children should be encouraged to maintain contact with their existing social networks, particularly if they are older."

She scowled but said nothing.

"I've known those children since they were babies, I used to sit for them when I was a teenager. There is no-one closer to them now their Momma is gone. If I could I would offer to adopt them myself, but as you know, circumstances don't allow. All I ask Miss …" I paused to look at her name badge, "Turner, is that you place them with a family who will not be hostile to them maintaining a relationship with me."

"My duty is to find a new family which will care for those children and keep them safe. I can't agree to anything that would put them in danger."

"They are in no danger with me or my husband." There was no point in beating around the bush I figured. "Or with any of our friends, human or Vampire. Besides the children are old enough to have legal rights. They can hire a lawyer, challenge your decision."

I realised from her expression that I'd gone too far. I hadn't meant it as a threat, but that was how she interpreted it. I tried to backtrack.

"Miss Turner, I know you want what's best for these children and I trust your professional judgement. All I ask is that you take what I've said into consideration." I must have sounded sincere as her expression softened a little.

"It is a complicated case, Mrs. Northman, high profile as well. I'll have to take advice from my supervisor. I will make sure you are informed of the decision."

"Thank you for your time, have a nice day." It was a shame I hadn't ingested Eric's ability to glamour along with his blood.

I forced myself to drive back to Shreveport. I had no idea when Eric would be back, but I wasn't going to risk inflaming what was already a difficult situation by being out of town when he finally showed.

He didn't come home that night though. I stayed up as long as I could, finally falling asleep on the couch around 3am. Half the time I was consumed with worry about where he might be. I wasn't about to call Pam or anyone else; the risk of further humiliation was too great, but a Vampire royal court can be a dangerous place, as I well knew. The other half I was eaten up with a mixture of anger and jealousy at the thought of that woman all over him.

When he finally arrived home the following evening, I was determined to stay calm. After all there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation. I wouldn't launch into an attack; I would stay calm.

Well that resolution lasted for about ten seconds after he came through the door. He was carrying a huge bunch of flowers and had a big grin all over his face. It did notin. All I could see was the image of the Oriental woman practically eating him up. So naturally I did what every right thinking woman would do, I flew right off the handle.

"What did you think you were playing at, how dare you humiliate me like that."

Eric is not big on anger management, so of course he reacted in kind. He stepped in so close that all I could see was his muscular chest, right up against my face. If he had been human, I just know it would have been heaving with emotion, but as it was all I heard was the soft click of his fangs running down, as he practically hissed at me:

"As you humiliated me, my dear, groping the Were in public for all to see."

Shit, there went my moral high ground. Not that I was going to give it up easily. I wasn't quite sure what to do next though. We could both be as stubborn as mules. I turned away and walked over to the window, staring out into the darkness.

"Nothing happened with Alcide. We're friends, that's all. Besides he has a new woman of his own now, he wouldn't have cheated on her."

I could see Eric's reflection in the glass. He hadn't moved. The bouquet of flowers hung limply in his hand. It was several long minutes before he spoke.

"The Magister ordered me to spend time with the woman. He suspects Arizona of being involved in the murders and wanted to see if I could get any information out of her."

"And did you?"

"There was something, but she was hard to read. I would say inscrutable if it didn't sound like a racial epithet. She is not the King of Arizona's permanent companion, I could tell, for some reason she had been loaned out to him. She knew nothing of why they were there."

The silence hung heavy, each of us willing the other to break it. Eventually he spoke again.

"I should have told you what I needed to do. I should have trusted you."

"No, Eric, I should have trusted you. I'm sorry. I guess I've just been waiting for you to be unfaithful to me. I really can't believe that I'll ever be enough for you."

"Sookie, you have to believe me, I will never need another woman while I have you, never. Now tell me that you trust me. I will do anything to prove it to you."

He closed the distance between us and pulled me into his arms. I just burst into tears. I couldn't help myself, even though I know Eric hates it when I cry. This time he said nothing though, just leant down to kiss the tears off my cheeks.

It's true what they say about make up sex, it is just the best. It was several nights before we emerged from our bedroom. We didn't just share the passion of making love though, we talked more honestly than ever before. We even had some fun reminiscing about how we first met, and how things could have worked out very differently for us.

Eventually we resurfaced into the real world. Now that I had worked through my anger, I wanted to know what was going on. Everything suddenly seemed suspicious: my two weeks away, Eric's seduction mission. There was no reason why the Magister would want to cause problems between us, but if it wasn't him then who was behind it?

I remembered and old T-shirt slogan I'd once seen: "Just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you."

_**Thanks so much for the feedback on the story so far - its great to hear what people think**_


	19. In a Big Country

"You're going to burn a hole in that if you stare at it much longer."

Eric had been concentrating on the letter for at least ten minutes. If he didn't say something soon, I was going to have to listen in to his thoughts.

"Sorry, dear one, I was just thinking."

"I could tell that, what is it?"

"We have been requested to attend a Vampire Summit."

I groaned.

"I quite agree. This is odd though, it's in Montana."

Most summits were high profile events – think the Oscars meet the G8. Some of them attracted A-list celebrities and got national media coverage. If the host was a major monarch, like Russell Edgington or Adolphus Coburg, publicity was pretty much guaranteed. I had a pretty hot designer wardrobe as a result.

Montana was not a state favored by vampires, unless they needed to lie low for some reason, or were healing. It had a couple of drainer victim rehab centers, I knew as we supported one of them through the Northman charitable foundation.

"Why Montana? And why are we invited this time?"

"Those are both questions I wish I knew the answer to. The agenda is very dry. It appears to be mainly minor renegotiations of the national Vampire Constitution."

The Constitution was a document I had been required to read from cover to cover as part of my law degree, it had been my specialist subject after all. Even so, there were many people with a lot more expertise in the subject than me.

Eric was definitely not being invited for his negotiation skills. He could be as cunning and manipulative as the next Vampire, but he didn't have the patience for long negotiations. Sooner or later, his natural warrior would always come out.

"Are you worried about it?" I asked. Eric looked worried.

"Not exactly, but I am suspicious. Some of the things going on recently have concerned me. There is something going on that I don't understand." He sounded unhappy, but that wasn't a surprise. Eric is used to being in control.

"What does Sophie-Anne think – we could ask her advice." That got me a snort of disgust.

"What about Russell then? I know he's not exactly a friend, but his political judgement is good."

"I've tried both of them, just to see if there is anything they know. I can't reach them, all the calls go straight to voicemail."

"I'll call the Magister then. He must know what it going on."

The Magister sounded to be in rather a good mood, as much as vampires ever have moods. He was certainly a lot nicer than the last time I had seen him.

"Of course you must go to the summit, my dear." He said, sounding quite warm and friendly. "It is essential that you and your husband are there. Besides, have you ever been to Montana?"

I told him that I hadn't. Before I married Eric I'd only left Louisiana three times and then never to go further than Dallas.

"Oh you will love it. The scenery is so beautiful."

He was rather more evasive when I tried to find out if he knew whether Sophie-Anne, Russell or Felipe de Castro were going to be there, claiming he did not have access to the full guest list.

"What do you think?" I asked Eric, after finishing the call. He would have been able to hear every word of course.

"I'm still not convinced, but I can't see there could be any danger to us. Besides if the Magister wants you to go, that probably counts as an order."

"Who is the ruler of Montana?" I was keen to have as much background information as I could.

"Martha Jane Cannery. She is not a vampire I know well. She is quite young, not much older than Bill Compton, which means she must have a very powerful Sire to be in that position. Admittedly Queen of Montana is pretty low down the in the pecking order of States. Her territory is geographically the largest: Wyoming, Idaho, North and South Dakota, Washington State, but they all have such small Vampire Communities. Seattle is the only real concentration of population

The venue for the summit was a ranch complex. I checked it out on the Web. It looked beautiful. I'd get the chance to ride on the open plains

"We could ride by moonlight." I said, expecting Eric to be enthusiastic about the idea. Instead he shivered visibly.

"Maybe… we'll see. "

I was surprised at his reluctance, but thought no more of it..

We arrived in Montana in daylight, Eric in his despised travel coffin. I couldn't have been more surprised by woman who greeted me on arrival. I knew the ranch was human owned, so I'd expected either some desperate fang-banger or the kind of unscrupulous business person whose main aim was to part the Vampires from as much of their considerable wealth as they could.

Instead Mary-Lee Rafferty was not much older than me. A little shorter, she had dirty blond hair and stunning blue eyes. I took an instant liking to her. She was surprised to see me.

"I'm sorry, we weren't told that there were any human guests. I expected this to be all Vampire. I'm just making the final arrangements, then JD and I will be staying in town for a few days."

"Don't worry about me, I can fend for myself. Provided you've got a ready supply of coffee of course." I smiled.

"Don't be silly. Someone is paying good money for you to stay here, I'd feel terrible if you weren't catered for. If you like we could drive into New Eden – they've got a great deli."

I must have raised an eyebrow – I was expecting a rural backwater, not some chi-chi little town.

"I'm surprised you haven't heard of New Eden. It was voted best boutique resort by both Vanity Fair and GQ last year. That's why we set up the ranch as a specialist vacation centre. All the fancy out of town types have driven property taxes sky high, its impossible to make a living just from ranching any more."

I had to confess to her that I wasn't a great one for reading the travel supplements. I wanted to know more about her though.

"You don't sound as if you're local?" I asked.

"No, I kind of came on a vacation from LA, and well one thing led to another. I met JD Rafferty, and you can guess the rest. I love it here though, it's just so beautiful."

I had to agree with her. The landscapes were spectacular, and so different from the steamy bayou of Louisiana.

"You don't seem the type to enjoy dealing with Vampires though."

"I'm broadminded enough. JD wasn't keen at first, but we spotted a gap in the market and its worked out okay. To be honest we don't generally have much to do with our visitors. I get everything set up then pretty much leave them to it."

"So who organized this shindig?"

"Funnily enough, we dealt with a human to make the arrangements. She was oriental, Thai I think. She never said who she was working for, just that there had to be total discretion. They've brought their own security. I would try to avoid them if I were you – they look pretty mean to me – some kind of biker gang."

"Yeah, I'll do that."

They were almost certain to be Werewolves, but she didn't need to know that.

"Well you have a good time, and if you do need anything, just give me a call." She handed me a card with her cell number on it.

The first night of the summit had to be some of the most tedious hours of my life. I was already tired from a long day travelling and, as Eric had predicted, the agenda was mind-numbingly dull. There were around forty Vampire representatives present, mainly from the smaller states. New York, California, Louisiana and Nevada had all sent their apologies. This surprised me, but I was just too tired to think about the significance of it.

The Magister was in a strange mood. When we arrived he seemed genuinely pleased to see me. As soon as we got into the formal sessions though, his whole demeanor changed. A couple of times I raised my hand to make a point, but he just ignored me. Eventually I just butted in, which earned me a furious tirade.

"If I want the opinion of a human I will ask for it. You are only here on sufferance. I will tolerate no further interruptions from you."

If he had been human I might have been able to explain his increasingly changeable temper, putting it down to stress perhaps or even drink or drugs. As far as I knew though, vampires didn't suffer stress. I decided to just ignore him, and not let it upset me.

The second night of the summit didn't go any better than the first. The topics were just as dry, and I found it hard to maintain my concentration.

Eric didn't help. When I looked up at him he was running a finger over his lips in a way that was frankly lascivious (that was a recent word a day which was getting a lot of usage). I had a vision of him spread out naked on an emperor size bed, with just a tangle of satin sheets to preserve his modesty.

'_You'd like to lick me all over, wouldn't you lover. Cover me with chocolate and eat up every last bit_.' He made sure to broadcast nice and loud so I was sure to hear him over the conversation in the room.

'_Eric, will you quit_!' I could feel myself heating up. The Vampire sitting near me could sense it. I actually saw their noses twitch, like a dog scenting a particularly juicy steak just out of reach.

'_Or champagne, I can see you dribbling champagne over my chest, and drinking it from…_'

I'd heard enough. Ignoring the complaints, I hurried out of the room, muttering 'ladies room' under my breath.

When I came out of the rest room, Eric was leaning against the wall opposite, an evil grin on this face. I didn't dare speak out loud in case any of the delegates decided to listen in on us.

'_Eric Northman, just what do you think you're playing at? This isn't a game you know._'

'_Oh, Sookie, don't be such a spoilsport. I'm just trying to liven things up. You can't deny that it is as dull as the grave in there_.

'_Well don't do it again. There's something going on, I just know there is, and we need to be ready for it_.'

He just laughed at that, and put his arm around my shoulders to guide me back into the room.

Sharing our sexual fantasies was as exciting as it got. By the final session, two nights later, several of the delegates had already started to drift away so naturally that's when the bombshell was dropped. Something in the Magister's tone made me wary as soon as he spoke.

"We have some late amendments. The organising committee has agreed to accept them."

Eric's face was impassive, but I knew him well enough to tell that he wasn't happy.

"Sir, the Constitution is very clear that forty-eight hours written notice is required for any amendments."

The Magister ignored me, turning instead to Eric. "Sheriff Northman, keep your human under control. I have told you before she is only here on sufferance." Inwardly I bristled again at his rudeness, but kept my feelings under control.

Eric reacted as strongly as I did. He reached for my hand, as much to calm himself as me. "In that case, Magister, we clearly have no further business here, please excuse us."

"You are not excused. You will stay and listen, I believe some of the matters we are to discuss will be of interest to you." He motioned to one of his attendants who stepped forward and began to read:

"Proposed amendment number 506a: No vampire shall enter into a marriage with a human. Any existing marriages will no longer be recognised under vampire law. Ownership of a human pet will be allowed, but must be ceded to a vampire of higher rank on request."

Tension hung heavy in the room. With the exception of the Magister, who was staring straight at us, every other occupant was straining not to look.

The silence was so complete, I could hear myself breathing. I could almost hear the anger coursing through Eric's veins.

'_As soon as this session ends, we are out of here. I'll call Pam and get her to arrange transport for us. Just don't react in the meantime. This is too outrageous to stand, it will be overturned_.'

I hoped he was right. There was something nagging at the back of my mind. Vampire proceedings are strictly formal, and something was not quite right about what was happening. I tried to relax and shut out my surroundings.

Eventually it clicked and I telegraphed to Eric: '_How many people are in the room, and how many have left?_'

He couldn't quite suppress a grin '_Well done, lover, I am glad you were paying attention to your studies_.' He continued out loud.

"Magister in order to recommend any change, two thirds of delegates must agree, must they not?"

"We have not yet taken a vote, Northman."

"No, but there are many empty chairs. There are no longer sufficient delegates to have a valid vote."

The Magister glared directly at me. Clearly he knew which of us had actually read the Constitution cover to cover. He recovered himself quickly enough, at least on the surface.

"No matter, there will be other opportunities." I could clearly recognize that beneath the calm interior, he was seething with rage. Not just rage though, I suddenly got the strongest impression of fear mingled in. Fear and also anticipation. He glanced involuntarily at the door, and every eye in the room followed him.

The double doors into the room were flung open. The Vampire who walked in was ancient and radiated power, even I could tell that. He was not tall, and his face was deeply lined. His hair was grey, and when he opened his mouth to speak he showed a row of gold teeth that had to be centuries younger than he was. He had obviously had them put in for the sinister effect they created.

Everyone in the room fell to their knees. Everyone that is except Eric and I. Eric stayed seated and I followed his lead.

The Magister, meanwhile, was kissing the hand of the new arrival.

"Master," he said in a low voice.

"My Child."

'_Oh, shit'_ I thought, '_this has to be bad. Who the fuck is that?'_

'_I'll explain later, but you are right, it is bad_.' Eric had picked up my concern. Thoughts don't convey emotions in quite the same way the spoken word does, but it was obvious that Eric was seriously worried.

"Eric Northman. I have to say that no-one was more surprised than I to find one of our oldest and most powerful brothers brought to his knees by a human. My sources tell me you are quite pussy-whipped." The ancient vampire spoke, and the sneer in his voice was unmistakable.

I was almost as furious as Eric, but if ever there was a time to reign in my powers, this was it.

"You, of all people, should know that things are often not what they seem. Please do not make the mistake of underestimating me, or my wife."

Anyone else would have been cowed by the menace in Eric's tone, but the ancient Vampire just laughed.

"You are the one who has failed to anticipate the obvious. Do you really think we can let you leave here to go away and undermine our plans? We have our other opponents safely under lock and key. By the time you next see moonlight it will be too late to make any difference. I am sorry about your human though, she must be quite special to tame the Viking."

Why did things always have to end like this? I felt as if I was trapped in some low-budget TV show, which always had to end with a cliff-hanger to keep the fans coming back next week. At least on TV, the heroine normally survived. I wasn't so sure about my chances.

_**A/N: The characters of Marilee and JD Rafferty, their ranch and the town of New Eden are taken from the Tami Hoag novel 'Dark Paradise'. I've often thought there is some kind of link between Tami Hoag and CH – she does reference her in one of the SVM books. Tami Hoag's early books were primarily romances with a bit of mystery thrown in and a healthy dose of lemons before she moved on to more conventional detective/mystery novels**_.

_**For those of you who have been waiting for answers there they were – at least some of them – hope the chapter didn't disappoint!**_


	20. The Way Through the Woods

I woke from what felt like a drug induced sleep, and immediately had the most terrible feeling of déjà vu. I could feel shackles, only this time they were round my ankles as well as my wrists. I was blindfold and gagged. From the feel of the air on my body I could tell that I was naked.

I tried to relax, and get a sense of who was in the room. Four vampires. It didn't take long to realise that one of them was Eric; I was strongly tuned into his presence, and his extreme unhappiness. I was shocked to realise that the second was the Magister. Although vampires don't have much of a scent and I can't read their thoughts, once I have spent enough time with one I get a feeling for the signature of their void. It sounds weird but it's true.

The silence in the room was broken by a dark and sinister voice. "Either you turn her or I kill her, it's that simple." It belonged to the new arrival, the one they had called the Master.

"I won't turn her, I have made a solemn vow, I cannot break it." Even through the fear I was feeling, hearing Eric say that made me feel good. Unfortunately the thought of the alternative fate filled me with terror.

"Fine, it's your choice, chain him." I could hear the sounds of a struggle, but they didn't last long. Then I could sense Eric's pain, which just added to my own.

"Master, you promised the girl to Queen Sophie-Anne." Andre was the fourth vampire in the room. He sounded more whiny than sinister. "That was why I agreed to help you."

"Are you stupid as well as disloyal?" Eric burst out. "How could you betray your Queen and your Maker like this?"

"I am doing this to help her. She has been foolish, but I will ensure she is on the right side in the struggle to come."

"You are a bigger fool than I thought." Eric sneered.

"I will not tolerate these outbursts," The Master said, coldly. "Gag him with silver."

"So, Mrs Sookie Northman, I wonder how you would like to spend your last night as a human."

I wished I could at least look at him, or make some kind of movement, or do anything to let him see what I thought of him. It wouldn't have helped of course but it might make me feel better.

"It would be a shame to let such a beautiful body go to waste. It certainly must be very special to have brought Eric Northman to heel as you have. You know we Vampires like to share. I do hope your husband will enjoy seeing others take pleasure in you."

Just in case there was any doubt about his meaning he stroked his hand over my breasts, then pinched my nipples hard. It took everything I had not to react. Then his fingers were between my legs, inside me. Stay calm, I thought, pretend its not happening, don't react. I visualised being at home with Eric in the hot tub, gazing at the stars, and hearing tales from his long life.

"It's a shame its so near dawn, but I think we should really make a night of it. We shall have quite a party my dear, so do prepare yourself"

He left the room and I sensed two other Vampire leave too. Eric and I were alone.

"_We will find a way to get out of this_," he communicated to me. If thoughts can sound confident, I would say that his did, although I couldn't see any reason for optimism.

"_It will be dawn soon_." What I really meant was that I would be alone, and scared, but I was trying to be brave.

"_You must use your powers. Free yourself and then try to free me from these chains_."

That bit I was confident about. I had freed myself before after all. The question was then what. We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hostile Vampires. I had no idea how we could get out of the ranch and back to civilisation. Eric obviously picked up on my thoughts.

"_At least free yourself. During daylight hours you can escape_." He was right; I did have a good chance. There was only one drawback, there was no way I could get Eric out of there on my own. In his daytime state of death, he would weigh a ton. I had no hope of moving him.

I was going to tell him that I wasn't leaving without him, but he would know that, and it sounded too much like a line from a bad movie. Too bad this wasn't the movies, this was real life.

"_I could call Niall and ask for his help_."

"_No. I would counsel against involving the Prince. It could have unforeseen consequences_."

Damn the consequences, I thought, all I cared about was getting me and Eric out of there. I took some deep breaths and tried to relax. Maybe I could come up with a plan. The stumbling block was finding a way of getting Eric out in daylight hours. Gradually though an idea began to form in my mind.

"_Eric?_"

"_Mmm,_" his thought patterns were weak, it must be almost dawn and he was slipping into his daytime death.

"_If I cover you really well, can you move in daylight?_"

"_Mmm_." It was too late to get an answer out of him. There was so much I didn't know about vampires. Was it just direct sunlight that was fatal to them, or would being in the open in daytime cause their final death, however well covered they were?

I was just going to have to risk it. I was going to need some help though. The only person I could think of was Mary-Lee Rafferty, the ranch owner. It was a big risk for her, if the Vampire found out she had helped me, the consequences would be terrible. I had to think of a way of getting her up here. It was too early to do anything yet, she wouldn't be awake. I would try and get a couple of hours sleep, if that was possible in my shackles.

I dozed fitfully for what felt like a couple of hours. Breaking out of my shackles was easy, my powers were getting stronger all the time. The door to the cellar wasn't even locked. I did need to get some clothes, and my cell-phone. Luckily the Were guards weren't allowed in the ranch house, and as I was the only human the whole place was silent as the grave.

Then I needed to get out to the stables without being seen. Once I'd managed that I put in a call to Mary-Lee. I really didn't want to, but without her help, I had no hope at all.

"Listen, if anyone asks you haven't spoken to me, haven't seen me." I rushed out the words, trying not to raise my voice.

"Uh-huh."

"I've just been checking out your horses. They are looking hungry and I can't find any food for them. Could you bring some up here?"

As she assented, I added. "If you're going to come up could you bring a really thick tarpaulin and some rope, but just don't let the guards see them?"

"Sure, I'll get there as soon as I can. Do you want to wait for me in the stables?"

She was the kind of woman I liked. There were no unnecessary questions, just action. I got the feeling she was used to coping in a crisis.

There were three horses in the stables. I stroked them one at a time, so they would get to know me and hopefully keep quiet. It helped calm me as well. I could focus on them, instead of wondering how on earth my crazy idea was going to work.

I heard footsteps approach and the door creak open. Mary-Lee wasn't alone and I had to quickly duck down behind a hay bale. The horses went crazy, bucking and rearing. I only just avoided a hefty kick in the head.

"You're going to have to stay outside, my horses don't like the scent of you," I heard Mary-Lee say to the person with her. Obviously one of the Were guards, I thought.

"Fine, but I'll be right outside. I have orders to search you and escort you off the premises."

When the door was shut, and the horses had calmed down, I stood up. She was carrying a big bag of horse-feed. When she opened it, the contents were exactly what I wanted, a heavy duty tarp and a long length of rope.

"I'm not even going to ask what kind of trouble you're in," she whispered.

"I'm really sorry I had to involve you, but I couldn't think of any alternative. Listen there are a couple of things I need to know. Is there anywhere within a short ride of here were we could maybe hide overnight?"

She thought for a moment. "JD's uncle Del used to live in a shack way up in the woods. It's practically impossible to find though, unless you know the way."

"Could you visualise going there? Just run through the journey in your mind."

"Sure." She looked puzzled but closed her eyes. Gradually, the image of a track through the woods began to take shape in her mind. It rose higher, eventually opening up into a clearing to reveal a tumbledown wooden shack. I tried my hardest to memorise the landmarks from her memories.

"That's great, thanks. Is there an airport or airfield anywhere nearby?"

"The Corona Flying School is about three hours drive upstate. The out-of-towners who have their own planes use it, that's probably the best place."

"Just one more thing, do you get really powerful storms around here?"

Now she was looking at me as if I was completely crazy. "Yeah, we get amazing thunderstorms, they come rolling down the valley out of nowhere. Why do you ask?"

"It doesn't matter. It would be really great if I could borrow one of your horses for the afternoon."

She nodded, and went to the tamest of the three. Keeping him calm she saddled him up with practised ease.

"Good luck." she said quietly as she turned to go.

"Thanks," I whispered back. I was certainly going to need it.

For the next part of my plan, I really needed my Great Grandfather's help. I decided I should take Eric's warning seriously, at least seriously enough not to call him directly. Perhaps there was another way of getting a message to him though. I sat down and focussed as hard as I could. I needed a serious thunderstorm to make the sky as dark as possible. Some lightning would be good as well. After visualising as strongly as I could, I picked up the supplies that Mary-Lee had brought and crept out of the barn and back to the cellar.

Getting Eric out of his chains and wrapped up tight was the easy part. Now I had to get him up the stairs and into the stables. I'd gotten pretty good at levitating small objects, but he must weigh well over 200 pounds. I concentrated as hard as I could on the body lying on the floor, imagining it floating up the stairs.

After thirty minutes of concentration, all I'd achieved was to give myself a headache. Then at last I saw a slight flicker of movement. It was only a couple of inches but it was enough. With his body floating free, I could just manage to push it to the top of the stairs.

Once outside, I crawled towards the stable block, pushing the prone form ahead of me. All the time my heart was beating like a drum in my chest. The Were guards didn't seem to bother much with patrolling the grounds, but if one of them saw us we were both dead meat. It seemed to take forever, but eventually I had Eric draped unceremoniously over the horse, and was leading it as quietly as I could towards the upper paddock.

As we set off up the hill through the woods, I heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. Clouds came scudding over my head, and the sky darkened almost to the colour of night. Huge raindrops began to clatter down on my head. Down in the valley, the meadows were illuminated by flashes of lightning but they were far enough away that I didn't have to worry about them.

The clearing was just as I had seen it in Mary-Lee's mind. Unfortunately the shack was in a bad way; it was clearly some time since she had last been up here. I just hoped there was enough of a roof left to give us shelter. As I dragged Eric's still dead form off the horse, I became aware of a glow back down in the valley.

He began to come too as I dragged him along the ground and into the shack. He was moaning with pain as his heavy body bumped along the stony ground. I winced at the sound of it, but I no longer had enough mental energy left to try to levitate him again. My powers are a bit like a battery sometimes. They run down and need re-charging.

When I finally unwrapped him, Eric looked like a human with a bad case of sunburn, which for a vampire is nowhere near as a painful as it looks.

"Are you hurting?" I asked him as he rose.

"It itches...a lot, but it doesn't really hurt too much. Where are we?"

"A shack in the woods, a couple of miles from the ranch."

"We need to move on, the Were will track us easily here."

"I think they've got other things to worry about right now." I motioned towards the window, where the glow of fire could be clearly seen. "The ranch was hit by lightning in the storm."

He was right though, we did need to move on. I had no idea how long it would take us to get to the airfield on horseback.

"Can you fly?"

"Not yet, I'm too weak. It will take me most of the night to heal and get my strength back."

That was time we really didn't have, but in order to speed things up I offered him my wrist. After a few moments of sucking greedily he raised his head. "Someone's coming, I can hear a truck."

Maybe I could fight them off, if there weren't too many of them. I bent down to kiss him. His lips were dry and cracked but I didn't care.

"Where is a witch when you need one?" Eric managed a smile and rueful laugh, which was a good sign.

I moved carefully towards the door, trying not to get too exposed. I concentrated on the approaching vehicle. The driver was human. I could just pick out some thoughts. They were garbled but angry: '_Damn Vampires...why did we ever...Mary-Lee is going to have to..._"

The man who emerged from the truck was at least six foot tall, and muscular. He was definitely pissed off, but I didn't get any sense of threat. "Mr. Rafferty?"

"Yes, ma'am. You must be Mrs. Northman. Mary-Lee said you would be heading up here. Is...?"

"Yes, he's inside. He's burnt, but healing. What happened to the ranch?"

"It was hit by lightning. The main building shouldn't be too badly damaged, it has a good sprinkler system, but the outbuildings have gone up in flames. The Fire Service is there now."

I felt a shiver of apprehension. Had anyone met their final death? The Fire Service could be dealing with some very angry vampires – I would not like to be in their shoes right now.

"I'll check out the damage later, meanwhile I need to get you out of here. Get in the truck, there's a place you can stay until tomorrow night, then you can get up to the Corona Airfield."

I went in to the shack to get Eric. He needed a little support but could just about walk unaided. He acknowledged Rafferty with a curt nod, which Mary-Lee's husband reluctantly acknowledged. Meanwhile I was on the phone to Pam to arrange for a plane to pick us up tomorrow evening.

"I'm real sorry about what's happened to the ranch. If there is anything we can do to help, you know, financially or anything."

I don't know why I felt bad, after all it wasn't really my fault, except that maybe I was the one who had called down the storm. But I liked Mary-Lee Rafferty, and even if her husband seemed a bit of a jerk, I didn't want her to suffer.

"Don't worry, we won't be dealing with Vampires any more," he responded bitterly.

"Please don't judge us all by those guests. If I were you though, I would stick to family groups and private bookings from now on." Eric spoke up unexpectedly.

I was too exhausted to join in the conversation, and soon all three of us fell into an uncomfortable silence, as the truck made its way down through the woods and into the valley.


	21. Further on up the road

I must have dozed off in JD Rafferty's truck, as when I woke we were in the courtyard of one of the fanciest ranch houses I had ever seen. It was long and low, with floor to ceiling glass doors allowing panoramic views of the astounding scenery. It was obviously abandoned, as weeds were growing up through the gravel of the drive, and the windows were dirty.

"It used to belong to some Hollywood producer, but he's doing time for illegal hunting and no-one wants this place. I'm hoping it will stay empty until I get enough vampire money to buy it myself." Now I understood why Rafferty was willing to do a deal with the devil.

"The water and electricity are turned off but you should be safe enough here. There are some outhouses as well which should be just about light tight. Mary-Lee will drive up tomorrow and leave you a car to get to the airfield."

I went to thank him but he turned on his heel and walked purposefully back to his truck.

"Nice guy," said Eric, sarcastically.

"Nice or not, he's helped save our lives. Now let's get inside and find somewhere safe for you to spend the day."

I bitterly regretted the lack of water. There was nothing I would have liked more than a shower.

"The horse troughs are full after the storm," Eric pointed out, unhelpfully. At least he had his sense of humour back. However inappropriate his comments that made me feel a lot better.

"I don't care how bad you smell, just come here." He pulled me down onto a huge leather couch. Dust flew into the air as our bodies crashed onto it. He held me gently, and my arms slipped around his waist. I trusted him to sense that what I really wanted then was to be held, and to be comforted.

"You are courageous, my lover, and creative."

"I just did what I had to do to get us out of there."

"Please do not down-play what you achieved. Our peril was truly great."

Somehow being reminded of that didn't make me feel better. I shivered with the thought of what would be happening to me right now, if we were still in that cellar.

"I can't believe the Magister would betray me like that. I thought he was my…." My voice trailed off. What did I think he was? Certainly not my friend. But I had thought that he liked me, as much as he could like any human.

"He had no choice. If it makes you feel any better, I think he was conflicted about what he had to do. That would explain his behaviour in recent weeks."

"What about Andre?"

"I have never known him be disloyal to Sophie-Anne. There is a very strong love between them, unusually for a vampire and his maker. I believe he thought he was acting in her best interests."

We had run out of things to say, so Eric just held me. He kissed my forehead, trailing down to my cheek, then to my neck, his kisses soft and gentle. They offered comfort and love, and right now that was what I really needed. I stroked his hair, and felt him relax under my touch.

"You know what I want to do, when everything is settled?" he asked. I smiled, but said nothing. "I will take you to my homeland. I want to show you where I had my human life."

Wow, I thought, that must be the vampire equivalent of being taken home to meet Mom and Dad.

"There are no vampire politics there. It is impossible for vampire to live there permanently, the summer days are too long. Even the king has to spend every summer further south."

"That will be wonderful, Eric, just you and I."

He smiled and brought his hand up to cradle the back of my head, twining his fingers into my hair and pulling my mouth towards his. As I opened to his kiss, all the painful memories of the last few days seemed to be erased from my mind. Somehow Eric's kiss could do that.

"You need to sleep, my darling. I will find myself a light tight resting place."

I guess he must have found somewhere as when I woke it was daylight and I was alone. I realised I has been woken by the sound of car tyres on the gravel.

"Mary-Lee, how are you. I'm so sorry about the ranch."

"Don't worry, the damage wasn't too bad. We've got enough insurance, thank goodness. The horses were okay as well."

"What about the guests?"

"One of the bikers was killed, it looked as if he was trying a rescue bid. The Fire Service thought they found the remains of a couple of Vampire in one of the bedrooms, but apparently it's hard to tell."

She was right, there's generally not much left of a vampire once they've met their final death. There had been at least fifteen Vampire there when we left though. Had they all perished, or had any managed to escape the fire?

"Anyway, I thought you might need some coffee and food."

Truly the woman was a life-saver. She had even brought some bottled water to make coffee with.

"I'm really sorry we didn't get to see the place properly. I was looking forward to some moonlight rides."

"You'd be very welcome to come back any time. It's going to take us a couple of months to rebuild, but after that it should be business as usual."

She gave me a hug before driving off.

Fortified by coffee I found some out of date magazines to read. They'd been published before the Great Revelation. I found it strange to read about a world which did not know of the existence of Vampire amongst us, but then most people still didn't know they were surrounded by Were and shifters, not to mention Fairies. Things were certainly simpler back then. Would I go back if it were possible? There was an easy answer to that question: it was six foot four, and blond.

As soon as Eric rose we set off for the airfield. For every mile we put between us and the ranch I felt myself getting more relaxed. I hadn't realised how much I had been living on my nerves, worried that someone would be sent to track us down.

I have never been as glad to see Pam as when we arrived at Corona Airfield to find her waiting for us. She was lounging in a pose of exaggerated boredom by the steps leading up to a small private jet. It was part of a luxury VIP fleet operated by Anubis. I wondered how she had managed to swing that, they were generally only used by the Kings and Queens.

"Good to see you," she said as calmly as if we were meeting up for a dinner date.

"You too," Eric replied in kind. "Any sign of Sophie-Anne yet?"

"She's not a happy bunny, that's for sure. She spent a week in a cellar with Russell Edgington and Felipe de Castro."

Eric snickered unkindly. "How did they eventually get out?" he asked.

"Bill Compton tracked them down. That boy is getting some powerful connections. I think you're going to have to be nicer to him in future, Eric."

"When am I ever not nice to him?" Eric pouted.

That got Pam and I both laughing, knowing how Eric loved to parade our relationship to try to annoy Bill. It didn't seem to work much anymore, I was pleased to say. Whatever differences Bill and I had, I hadn't enjoyed seeing him humiliated.

One of the flight attendants appeared at the top of the stairs. She already had tell-tale bite marks on her neck. Pam had obviously been enjoying herself on the flight up here.

"Hey, you all," she drawled, "we need to get going if you want to get back before you fry."

Eric glared at her, not appreciating her familiarity. Pam just smiled and led the way up the steps.

When we were finally settled and the flight attendants had finished fussing over Eric, Pam reopened the topic we had already been over several times.

"What the fuck do you think is going on?" She clearly wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush.

"I wish I knew. I can make some guesses though. All of us older Vampire have heard of the one called the Master. He has the status of legend in our world. It is said that he is the oldest Vampire still in existence, and some even claim that he was turned in the days of the Pharaohs in Egypt."

"No way!" I couldn't hide my shock. Knowing Godric, who had existed for two thousand years, was amazing enough in my book, but for there to be a Vampire twice or three times as old as Godric was unbelievable.

"If we assume that he has been behind everything that is going on, then I would surmise that his actions were designed to drive a rift between humans and vampires."

"Or to widen it." Pam interjected.

"Yes, quite." Eric agreed sharply. "He targeted the most prominent Vampire king and queendoms, those which had most to lose from a breakdown in the current arrangements. The kidnappings and murders were blatantly obvious in their attempts to create bad feelings. I can only think that things were not going fast enough for his plans, which was why he attempted to change the constitution."

"Surely that was crazy though. The way he did it was so clumsy, it was bound to fail."

"Yes, that is hard to explain."

The three of us sat in silence for several minutes, trying to make sense of what had happened. Finally Pam voiced the question we all wanted answered.

"So do you think the Master has met his final death?"

"Truthfully, no. I understand that two or three Vampire did perish in the fire but they were probably expendable. Do you think the Magister is dead," Eric said turning his attention to me. "You have a link to him after all?"

I pondered that for a few moments. Ever since I had been sentenced for the staking of Lorena, there had been a bond between the Magister and I. It was nowhere near as strong as a blood bond, more like the Vampire equivalent of an electronic tag. It meant he could track me down at all times, but it also worked the other way. I realised that I could no longer feel it. I probed for a while longer… definitely nothing.

"I think he probably is. I guess we'll never know if he was trying to protect us or trying to betray us."

"A little of both I suspect," Eric replied. "As the Master's child he had to do his bidding, you know how that bond works."

I shuddered, having seen it at work between Lorena and Bill.

Eric continued: "I don't think it was what he wanted though. I am sure that he cared for you, and I believe that he knew that things could never go back to the time before the Revelation. It is quite possible that the Master killed his own child, the most terrible crime a Vampire can commit."

"So the chances are we will see the Master again."

Eric looked more serious that I had ever seen him. "I think it is almost certain, my lover. However I think he will be shocked by the powers that we possess. He will underestimate us at his peril. He measures time in centuries, not days or months. We may have years to wait before we encounter him again."

"I hope you're right," I said, snuggling up against his muscular chest for comfort. "I hope you're right." I repeated quietly, almost to myself. That was probably because I didn't believe it.

_**A/N Thank you to everyone who has read the story – I hope you enjoyed it. Even more thanks if you were kind enough to send me feedback or a review. It's never too late to let me know what you think of it! **_

_**I am considering either a sequel or some extra chapters, they won't be up for a while though.**_

_**Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball own the characters (apart from Marilee and JD Rafferty who appear in 'Dark Paradise' by Tami Hoag).**_


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